


Blurred

by DelightfullyDrarry



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2017-10-10
Packaged: 2018-12-06 01:14:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 38,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11589975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DelightfullyDrarry/pseuds/DelightfullyDrarry
Summary: Where Harry and Draco are back for their eighth and final year at Hogwarts and the lines between loving and hating each other are incredibly blurred.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fic I originally posted on Wattpad and am still yet to finish because I am a procrastinating asshole. I hope you enjoy xx

Draco wasn’t exactly thrilled to be back at Hogwarts. This wasn’t due to the fact that the blond had yet another year of schooling, but rather he knew his peers would absolutely despise him. Draco Malfoy, a Death Eater. The thought alone made him cringe while he fiddles with his robes, trying to hide the dark mark from all to see. 

Pansy eyes her friend from the other side of the compartment, reaching over to give his trembling hand a squeeze. “Everything will be okay, Draco,” She promises. “And if it's not and people give you trouble, they'll have to come to me and have hell to pay,”

Draco shoots Pansy a small, fake smile, that being the only thing he can manage before squeezing her hand back weakly and looking out the train window. He had been trying his best not to think over all that had happened during the war but often had flashbacks of certain tasks he was given which he could never complete, given consequences and punishments he could barely endure. 

They arrive at Hogwarts quicker than expected and all colour drains from Draco's face. Shouts and commotion dabbled throughout the whole train hall, people laughing with their friends and grabbing their luggage. Draco is visibly shaking, terrified of the noise and Pansy gives him a look of pity he doesn't notice. “C'mon, Draco,” She murmurs, linking their arms together. 

The silvery eyed boy nods robotically, grabbing his trunk and having Pansy lead him out of the train. He's given glares and harsh words are being spat in his direction as they walk to a carriage and Draco stops mid step once he sees Harry's carriage is the only one open. He swears softly under his breath but Pansy pulls him forward with a soft tug. “Up you go, Dray,” She says, voice soft so she doesn't startle him. 

“Thanks, Pansy,” He says, tone a mix between a sigh and a whimper. He moves as far away from the Golden Trio as he can and Pansy does the same, resting her hand over Draco's which causes him to flinch and for Pansy to sigh sadly.

The duo talk quietly while the other three do the same, completely ignoring each other. When they do arrive in front of Hogwarts, Pansy gets out first and Draco follows behind, that is before Ron trips him on his way down. The blond boy winces, falling into the dirt, palms scratched from where he had tried catching himself. Blood pools behind his lips from where he had bit his cheek. Pansy helps her friend up from the dirt, shooting the redhead a glare as Draco dusts himself off. “You dirty little weasel! I ought to hex the hell out of you!” She growls, nearing closer to the three. 

Draco grabs onto the sleeve of Pansy’s robe quickly yet gently. “Leave it Pans, please,” He whispers. His friend looks back at him, anger flaring in her eyes but does as Draco had asked. 

“Next time you pull something like this, Draco won't be able to hold me back,” She hisses before the two begin the journey toward the castle. “You okay?” Pansy asks, concerned when she sees Draco limping and cradling his palm. 

“Yeah, I'll be fine,” He promises. 

The two settle down in their private rooms, a courtesy of being an eighth year before heading down for dinner. “Did you hear about how we don't have to wear uniform after tonight?” Pansy asks, noticing Draco’s frown as his fellow Slytherin shoot him dirty looks. 

“No, I didn't know that,” He mumbles.

“It'll be great,” She continues with a grin.

“Yeah, I'm sure it will, Pans,” Draco says, picking at his nails, mind having gone elsewhere. 

“Draco, come back to me. You're floating off on me.” Pansy’s words pull Draco back to reality. He finds everyone had dug into their meals while Draco's plate was still empty. 

“Sorry,” He mutters before piling mashed potatoes and chicken onto his own plate. Pansy watches as he pulls a shaky hand up to his mouth before he loses grip on the utensil altogether and it comes crashing down on his plate. “Damn it,” He mumbles before moving to pick it back up. 

“Draco, are you okay?” Pansy asks and Draco nods, sick of the question. 

“Yeah, I'll explain things later,” He murmurs before going back to his food, picking at it before they were dismissed. “Did I miss anything from Professor McGonagall’s speech?” The blond asks, stalling once they neared closer to their dorms. 

Pansy shakes her head apart from saying, “All she explained was how the eighth year dorms were coed and all the houses were put together because there was no room to put us anywhere else,”

“So basically I'll have to keep an eye out for Potter and his friends more than usual,” Draco replies, falling back on his bed once they had gotten there. 

“Yeah,” Pansy sighs. “But I'll make sure they or anyone else won't mess with you,” She promises. 

Draco nods slowly, running a hand over his tired and drained face. “Why're you still friends with me, Pansy?” He asks.

The brunette eyes Draco with disbelief at his words and says, “We've been friends for years. I'm not going to stop being your friend all because you got sucked into a shitty situation,” She then takes a seat beside Draco, frowning. “Now are you going to explain to me what's going on?”

The silver eyed boy sighs, something he had been doing a lot lately and says, “They used the Curciatus Curse on me,” His voice is small, vulnerable and Pansy’s face visibly whitened. 

“What? Who's they?” 

“The other Death Eaters. V-Voldemort. My father,” Draco replies. “Whenever I didn't complete a task--which was often--or refused to do something they used it on me. When I didn't kill Dumbledore that was one of the worst days. I received it multiple times. I have scars to prove it. They-- they deprived me of food, made me feel like trash. Lesser than dirt. That's why my hands tremble. Because my body couldn't take it and now it's nowhere near the same,”

Pansy wipes away the tears she couldn't hold back, horrified at her friend's words. “Can I see them? Can I see the scars?” She treads carefully with her words, instantly expecting a no but after a few moments, Draco stands and pulls off his robes, undoes his tie and unbuttons his shirt. Pansy’s eyes widen, not expecting what she was now seeing. “I-- I wasn't expecting them to be this bad,” She whispers before running a hand over the deep red gashes.

“It's been months and they still haven't properly healed. They're still red and inflamed. Deep and...disgusting,” The last word comes out a whisper, his lip trembling and Pansy pulls him in for a hug.

“Oh Draco,” She murmurs into his neck. “I'm so sorry. You don't deserve this,”

The blond pulls away from his friend, quickly as if her touch were electric. “I did. I...do,” He disagrees, turning away from her and pulls on his shirt, rebuttoning it as he continues. “I’m a filthy Death Eater. I deserved every punishment. Every spell. Every curse,”

Although Draco doesn't see, Pansy is shaking her head fiercely. “Draco, none of this was your fault. You were forced into it. That or your parents and everyone you cared for died. I would've made the same decision,”

Her statement causes a loud sob to leave Draco’s lips, crumpling to the floor and curling into a ball. “N-No. I'm a monster. I didn't deserve to live. I didn't deserve to be saved,”

Pansy moves to the floor beside Draco, pulling him into her lap. “You do deserve life, Draco. You were forced to do evil things but we both know if you had the choice you never would've done them. You're a good person who was trapped into doing horrible things. You're not a dark person, Draco. As much as you and many others may think, you're truly not. I know that and deep down you know it too,” 

Draco is sobbing so loud he barely hears her and knows that many of his peers could hear him as well, the boy not having closed his door but in that moment he didn't care. All the blond cared about was the warmth of Pansy’s touch and the way she carded her fingers through his messy hair, rocking them both gently. “Thank you,” He whispers and Pansy barely catches it. 

“There's no reason to thank me, Draco. I've got you. I've always got you,”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ron is lowkey going to be a dick in this story mostly for plot and angst. I know he wasn't this vile in the books but stay with me. Enjoy xx

The next morning at breakfast, Pansy is shooting Ron harsh looks. Draco had tried to get her not to but the brunette would always go back to it no matter how many times she was asked. “Pansy, it's fine,” He murmurs, picking apart his toast. He had learned now that he wasn't worthy of food. 

“It's not,” Pansy disagrees before sighing and going back to her food. “C'mon Draco, eat something,” She prompts, pointing her fork to his plate which was simply a shredded pile of bread and Draco shakes his head, pushing the silver plate away. 

“I don't deserve it,” He replies, not meeting her gaze. 

Pansy stiffens in her seat beside the blond and asks, “Is this why you've lost so much weight?”

“Doesn't matter,” Draco says simply, fiddling in his seat.

“Draco, look at me,” Pansy orders softly. After a few moments, the silver eyed boy looks up at her concerned friend. “You need to eat something. Your body needs it. Now more than ever,”

“I'll just throw it up. Whenever I try eating anything my body just rejects it because I'm used to not eating,” 

Pansy is frowning at her friend, bathed in concern. “Just a little? Something small. A biscuit? You don't even have to eat all of it,” She coaxes, grabbing the small loaf off her plate and handing it over to the frail boy. 

Draco sighs shakily before taking what she had given him, chewing on small bites, having to pause every few minutes to keep from gagging but soon enough, his body is pushed past his limits and he's sprinting toward the bathroom. He barely makes it into a stall before getting sick, bent over the toilet, feeling completely spent. When he's left dry heaving into the toilet bowl, tears collecting in his eyes, he hears a familiar voice ask, “Draco, are you okay?”

After wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Draco hesitantly gets up from the floor and leaves the stall. “What’s it to you, Potter?” He spits.

Draco walks over to the sink and Harry tries not to notice the tear tracks caking the blond's cheeks. “I just... I heard you getting sick and I was concerned,”

The taller of the two rolls his eyes. “Oh what a surprise. Famous Harry Potter, everyone’s savior and your friendly neighborhood empathetic wizard? Could he get much better?” Draco hisses, splashing water on his face and rinsing out his mouth. 

Discarding the Slytherin’s comment, Harry says, “I was just worried about you. I heard you and Pansy talking and... I'm worried for you too,”

“You shouldn't be. I'm fine,” Draco says yet Harry notices the obvious shaking of his hands and wobble of his weak knees. 

“Please don't do this,” 

“Do what?” Draco asks, voice sharp and hostile. 

“Beat yourself up for everything that's happened. I know you're hurting but please don't make things worse for yourself,”

Before Draco can reply, Ron comes into the bathroom, quickly shooting Draco a harsh glare. “What’re you doing talking to scum like him, Harry?” He asks and Draco ducks his head down, frowning. 

“Leave Draco be, Ron. We were just discussing something. Don't worry about it,” Harry replies and the two leave the bathroom seconds later, leaving Draco alone, the boy leaning against the sink, looking at himself in the mirror and hating what he saw; a broken boy who wanted nothing more than for death to overcome him. 

He doesn't bother going to class, only walks back to his dorm, collapsing on his bed with a groan. He knew the next year here would only get harder and he was already breaking apart. Draco lets off a loud, broken scream into his pillow, knowing no one was around to hear him before sitting up and writing his mother a letter. She was on house arrest while his father was sentenced to life in Azkaban. The thought alone causes shivers to run down Draco's spine. Lucius was locked in a cell with the highest levels of security, Dementors lurking around every corner. He could only imagine what living that way was like yet knew his father deserved it. 

After heading to the owlery to send off his letter, Draco walks back to his dorm, limping slightly. He had twisted his ankle when Ron had tripped him on the carriage yet he had said nothing, not wanting to draw any attention to himself; he had enough of that already. He tidies up his room, distracting himself until Pansy comes to his dorm, looking concerned as always. “You weren't in any of your classes,” She points out.

“Yeah, I was feeling ill,” Draco sighs. 

“Well...” Pansy trails off. “I got the notes for you if you want them,” She holds up multiple pages of parchment with her signature scrawl and Draco finds himself nodding. 

“Can we go out to the common room? I'm sick of sitting around in here,” Pansy nods enthusiastically, surprised Draco had even suggested it and it doesn't take long to get there. The two sit down on one of the couches in front of the fireplace and Draco takes out his quill, ink and parchment, quickly copying down his friend's notes. 

“Your hands aren't shaking,” Pansy points out and Draco nods insecurely. 

“Yeah um, it doesn't happen all the time and I can at least be thankful for that,” His voice holds the smallest traces of hope and Pansy rests her head on Draco's slim shoulder. 

“Have you ever thought about going to Madam Pomfrey to see if she has anything to fix it?” Pansy asks and Draco shakes his head. 

“No,” He sighs. “The tremors come and go and it's not too bad anyway. I don't see the point in--” 

“Whining and moping again, Malfoy?” Ron taunts, cutting him off. “Merlin, that seems to be all you've done since you got here. We all heard you sobbing like a git last night,” He snickers and Draco is suddenly standing up, pressing his wand to Ron's neck with gritted teeth, the boy finally hitting on Draco's nerves. 

“You don't know anything about me, Weasley so I suggest you shut your worthless mouth and keep your nose out of my business,” He growls before removing his wand and sitting back down beside Pansy.

While Hermione quickly frets over Ron, worried for his wellbeing, the redhead shrugs her off. “Damn Malfoy, the Ministry let you off easy. You do seem like a proper Death Eater. Seem to have enough dark magic in you for all of us and if it were my decision, I'd have locked you up in Azkaban with your filthy father,” Ron snaps. 

“That's enough, Weasley. Now go along and play with your slutty Mudblood and leave us alone,” Pansy hisses, rubbing her thumb over Draco's hand soothingly. 

The two Gryffindors leave Draco and Pansy be, Harry nowhere in sight and once they're gone, the blond lets off a shaky sigh, resting his head in his hands. “I didn't mean to snap. I really didn't. M-Maybe I am as bad as everyone thinks I am,” He whispers.

Pansy shakes her head instantly, pulling the boy closer. “No Draco, you're not,” She promises. “Ron was just being a prat trying to get under your skin. Don't worry about it, okay?” 

Draco nods slowly yet doesn't take in much of what his friend had said. He copies down her notes wordlessly and once finished, looks up at the clock to see it was nearing midnight. “Sorry I've kept you up,” He mutters and Pansy shakes her head at him, telling him not to worry. “Goodnight, Pans. I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

The brunette nods, giving Draco's hand a final squeeze before heading off to her dorm. The grey eyed boy does the same and as he's looking up at the ceiling, awaiting sleep, he realizes the Golden Trio hadn't come back. Eyeing his door he had since shut, he shakes the thought off and slowly drifts off to sleep.

***

///

“You’ve failed to complete another task, Draco,” Voldemort points out, shooting the blond a disappointed look yet Draco knew there was a punishment to receive. 

“Yes, and I'm so very sorry,” Draco stammers, barely able to keep his gaze on the Dark Lord.

“Punishments to failed tasks are crucial, wouldn't you say, Draco?” 

“Y-Yes,” The young Malfoy whispers, voice incredibly small. 

“And what do you think your proper punishment should be this time? Remember, the death of Albus Dumbledore was very important and you failed me once again. If it wasn't for Severus, my plan wouldn't be going as smoothly as it should,” Voldemort reminds him and Draco nods, trembling in his place feet away from him. 

“I-I'm not sure what my punishment should be, my Lord,” 

At Draco's words, Voldemort breaks out into a smile. “So you're leaving it up to me then? Interesting,” He takes a moment to think it over and Draco's heartbeat quickens with each passing second. “Nagini, what do you say we rough him up a bit?” He chuckles, motioning down to the snake at his feet. 

Draco's eyes widen in horror as the snake nears him, quickly tangling around his feet, constricting until he loses feeling and falls. Voldemort then reminds his pet not to kill but to “hurt him very very badly”. 

The blond has tears in his eyes but he refuses to let them fall, not wanting to show weakness to the man who he had killed people in front of Draco without a bat of an eyelash. When the snake's fangs pierce Draco’s calf for the first time, the boy lets off a whimper of pain yet says nothing. The snake continues to pierce her fangs into Draco’s body, each bite higher and more painful than the last while she also tangles herself around his body tightly, the blond unable to move. Just as he’s about to pass out from both shock and a tremendous amount of pain, Voldemort says, “Remember, Draco. There's always consequences to our actions,”

///

Draco awakens with a start, thrashing around in bed with tears caking his cheeks. These nightmares hadn't started until after Voldemort’s death but when they did they were brutal. The blond lets off a shaky sob, hands trembling but this time he knew it had nothing to do with the curse, rather with the fear coursing through his body. Draco opens his bedroom door and pads down to the bathroom to splash water over his face and try to pull himself together. He had half a mind to seek Pansy’s help yet goes against it, having lent on her enough upon arriving back to Hogwarts so instead, he runs a hand through his hair, sighing at his reflection which held dark bruises under his eyes and a pasty white complexion. 

Draco then walks back to his dorm, still slightly shaken up. He knew he wouldn't be getting anymore sleep; he never did whenever he had nightmares like those so he begins pulling out his textbooks and reading over the lessons he had missed. He does this until the sun had begun to rise above the trees and it was time to get ready for class. He tugs on a baggy hoodie and jeans, simple muggle attire but he doesn't mind it. All he wanted at this point was to be comfortable and have his dark mark kept out of sight. 

He walks to Pansy’s dorm, knocking gently before saying, “Pans, can I come in?”

“Sure,” The brunette calls from the other side of the door. He walks in to the girl in her bra and underwear but he pays her no mind as he lays back on her bed, exhausted. “You look like you didn't get much sleep,” She points out after pulling a shirt over her head. 

Draco only nods, mumbling “Nightmares,” softly in explanation. Pansy doesn't ask questions, already having a hunch on what they were about and the two are walking down to breakfast a few moments later. “I wrote my mother last night and she never answered back,” Draco frowns as they take a seat at the Slytherin table.

“I'm sure she's just busy,” Pansy replies as she piles food onto her plate. 

Draco nods yet knows it's unlikely. He says nothing, only places a small serving of eggs onto his plate which causes Pansy to smile, proud of him. He eats his breakfast slowly, Pansy finishing long before him yet neither of them mind. They're talking peacefully the whole time and even the sharp glares from their peers isn't enough to dampen their mood. When Pansy asks if he'd go to class, Draco gives her a small smile and says, “Yeah, I think I will,” When he asked for her schedule, he notices they have all of their classes together apart from Potions which Draco doesn’t mind seeing as that was his favorite class anyway although he did share it with Harry. 

The two head to their first lesson after Draco had finished his breakfast and the day goes by quickly. He had managed keeping down all three of his meals, much to both his and Pansy’s surprise and was able to block out the majority of his peers’ torment. The Slytherin duo were now sitting in the common room much like they had been before yet now it wa much more relaxed; Pansy was reading their Potions textbook aloud while her head rested in Draco’s lap, the blond taking notes as she did so. A pair of Hufflepuffs had walked in on them, Draco not having noticed them until Pansy says, “What’re you looking at? Never seen two friends take notes together?” with a glare which makes the two move on quickly.

“You don’t have to be so mean,” Draco chuckles which causes Pansy so simply roll her eyes. “Want to go down to the owlery with me?” He asks and the brunette shrugs, getting off his lap. They both grab their coats, temperature dropping by the hour. 

Their banter to the owlery was light and playful until a peer of theirs stops them. “Hey Draco,” Blaise says with a grin. “How’s Daddy Malfoy doing in Azkaban? It surprised me when I heard you were coming back. I’d have thought you’d end up in there too,” 

The blond boy’s gaze suddenly hits the floor and Pansy says, “Sod off Zabini.”

“Malfoy can’t even fight his own battles now,” Blaise continues as if she hadn’t spoken. “Figured being a Death Eater would’ve taught you a thing or two. Guess not,” He snickers. 

Draco moves past him, checking him in the shoulder hard which nearly causes him to fall over. Pansy steadies him so quickly Blaise doesn’t seem to notice. “What an arse,” She mutters once they were far enough away from him. 

“Yeah,” Draco mutters in reply. They get to the owlery quickly and the blond’s spirits are lifted as soon as he sees a familiar black owl holding a letter with Draco’s name on the front. Pansy smiles softly at his change in mood, this being the first time she witnessed him truly smiling. He reads the letter out loud while they walk back to their dorms and Draco’s grin never lessens, as if his encounter with Blaise had never happened. 

Draco, 

I hope you’re doing well and that the students aren’t too brutal. I also hope that your hands are feeling better and that if they’re not you see Madam Pomfrey right away. I’m doing alright, dear, thanks for checking in. Although things are a bit lonely here, I was pleased to have received your letter. As to word on your father, I haven’t heard much. There have been a few things I saw in the Daily Prophet yet nothing to fret over. And, you know Skeeter, always one to exaggerate.

I’ll talk to you soon, sweetie. Write back when you can. 

Love, 

Mum

Pansy is in awe at the ecstatic grin on Draco’s face, knowing how close he was with his mother. She had known that Draco had always had a soft spot for her; never letting Lucius talk down to or hurt her and Narcissa always returned his kindness in other gestures such as writing letters like these.

“Thanks for coming with me, Pans,” Draco speaks up and his friend squeezes his hand softly. 

“No problem, Draco. Thanks for letting me hear your mother’s letter,” 

“Well,” The blond begins. “I’m going to head in for the night. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, yeah?’ 

The brunette nods, pulling her friend in for a hug. She frowns at how skinny he was becoming but says nothing of it, wishing Draco goodnight instead and heading off to her room. The walk to Draco’s was shorter than Pansy’s was and he shoots her a smile before shutting his door. He then walks over to his trunk and pulls out a set of sleeping clothes and a towel, heading to the bathroom for a shower. Draco had tried unwinding while under the warm spray but is quickly interrupted when he hears voices nearing the bathroom. He’s frowning from inside the shower cubicle when he hears, “Mate, take Malfoy’s clothes,” while others chuckle with amusement. He then hears pads of feet leaving the room quickly and when he moves the curtain to check if his clothes were still there, he finds himself robbed of them. 

Swearing under his breath, Draco feels tears collecting in his eyes and he lets off a shaky breath, feeling weak and incredibly vulnerable. The warm water cuts out quickly and Draco is left naked and shivering for what feels like hours until he hears a new set of footsteps enter the bathroom. The blond tried his best to contain his cries but when he hears a voice ask, “Hello? Are you okay in there?” He can’t help but peek his head through the curtain at a certain green eyed boy. “Draco?” Harry asks, surprised. 

The thinning boy nods, staring down at the tiled floor, embarrassed. “Some guys came in and took my clothes. N-Now I have nothing to wear to get back to my room,” His voice is small and he hates himself for it but Harry’s features soften at the explanation. 

“Here,” He murmurs, holding his clothes out. “Take mine. You can return them whenever,” 

Draco eyes the outfit along with a towel with disbelief. “Harry I can’t--” 

“Take them, Draco,” Harry says with a light laugh and Draco shakes his head. 

“B-But they’re yours,” He stammers. 

“So? Return them to me sometime,” The brunet says, dangling the clothes closer his way. 

With a sigh, Draco hesitantly takes what Harry had handed him, drying himself off before slipping on his clothes. Although Draco was much taller than Harry, thanks to his loss of weight they had for the most part fit him fine. The pants were about an inch too short but it was better than nothing. When he steps out of the stall, he gives Harry a grateful smile, tugging on the sleeves of the Gryffindor sweater. “Thank you, Harry,” He murmurs.

“No problem, Draco,” Harry replies. “Do you want me to walk you to your room? Just incase those guys are still around?”

Draco blushes a deep red as he nods. “I’m sorry for troubling you,” 

“You’re not troubling me, Draco,” Harry promises and Draco finds himself nodding again. The green eyed boy frowns, however, when he notices the tremble in the blond’s hands as he reaches for the doorknob. 

“I’ll uh... I’ll see you tomorrow in Potions?” Draco says yet it comes out like a question. 

“Of course,” Harry replies before turning on his heel and walking back to his room for a new set of clothes. Draco however heads off to bed, burrowing under his covers, instantly noticing the way Harry’s hoodie smelt of cucumber melon and fresh laundry, something that was so unbelievably Harry it makes him grin like it an idiot and he stays that way for the rest of the night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the overwhelming support and love so far! It means so much to me xx

“Why're your teeth chattering? It's not that cold in here,” Pansy says with furrowed eyebrows. 

Draco had swapped Harry's hoodie for a Slytherin one the next morning, his sharp cologne an obvious contrast to Harry's softer scent. The blond shrugs, wrapping his arms around his middle. “Dunno,” is all he can come up with.

“Maybe it's because you've lost so much weight,” Ron cuts in, having heard the two on their walk to breakfast. “What are you, anorexic or something?” 

Draco stops suddenly, shocked by his words and turns to face the redhead. “No,” He says, hands balled into fists. “And even if I was it wouldn't be any of your concern. Now, where did I tell you to keep your nose, Weasley? Out of my business? That seems pretty accurate. So how's about you get that through your thick skull before I do something that'll make you regret it,” The blond’s threat is strong and solid, not a trace of fear in his words which makes them out to be all the more menacing. 

Ron scoffs yet obvious unease is etched onto his features. He walks away with Hermione and Harry at his heels and when Draco turns to Pansy, he finds her entire stature drugged with irritation. “Merlin, when is that boy going to leave you alone?” She asks and Draco rolls his eyes. The two then make it to breakfast and Draco refuses it much to Pansy’s dismay. “You were doing so good yesterday,” She frowns and the blond sighs, sad that he had upset her. 

“I’m sorry. I just... I can’t today, Pansy,” Truth be told, his dream from last night had been the cause of his loss of appetite yet he couldn’t bring himself to admit that. He also had no interest in going to classes today yet knew he had to. He was being heavily watched by the teachers back at Hogwarts and he was surprised he managed to skip the day before. 

Draco scratches at his dark mark harshly until he breaks skin and excuses himself to the bathroom as soon as he feels it. The walk to the bathroom doesn’t take long and when he pulls up his sleeve, he finds a small trace of blood over the blackened skull. Wincing, Draco runs his forearm under the sink before patting it dry. Right as he’s about to roll his sleeve back down, he hears the bathroom door shut and locks eyes with Harry. He seemed to always be bumping into the boy. Harry’s emerald eyes then lock on Draco’s mark and the silver eyed boy quickly pulls his sleeve back down. “I gotta go,” He mutters before leaving Harry standing in the middle of the bathroom floor.

“Hey,” Pansy smiles once Draco had made his way back to their table and Draco forces his best of smiles. 

“Hey,” He replies and eyes the clock, seeing as breakfast was about to end. He makes polite conversation with his friend before they’re dismissed and the two are walking to their first class. Draco couldn’t get the image of Pansy’s face at the sight of his scars out of his head. The way tears had quickly collected in her eyes before Draco even had a chance to explain was the smallest of examples of how much she cared. He could only imagine what it’d be like if he ever told her whatever else he had went through. 

The two take a seat in the first seats that they see and Pansy continues droaning on yet Draco had lost interest a while ago. That girl never seemed to run out of things to say. 

Before he knows it, it’s down to his final class of the day, Potions which he didn’t have with his one friend so he walks there alone, textbook tucked under his arm. He was nervous to get there, however, knowing he’d have to face Harry without being able to escape. Draco takes a seat in the back of the classroom, waiting for other students to file in and soon, Harry makes an appearance. He had been trying his best to avoid any Slytherins almost as badly as Draco had so he takes a seat beside the blond, figuring, although they weren’t the best of friends, he would be the most likely not to rip his head off. “Hey Draco,” He greets and the blond barely manages a smile. 

“Hey,” He whispers and soon class begins. Professor Slughorn had taken over Snape’s position after his death and although everyone could agree he wasn’t nearly as good, he wasn’t all bad either. He gets the class working on a potion with little time to waste and Draco is collecting the ingredients while Harry just speculates, taking in his actions. They were slower than they used to be, more calculated and well thought out before acted upon. Once he had begun the project and found Harry still standing there idly while the rest of the class was starting as well, he nudges the boy gently. “Harry, what’re you doing? You’re not going to finish in time if you just stand there,” His voice is small, nothing like it had been years prior and the sound of it knocks Harry from his thoughts. 

“Right. Thanks, Draco,” 

The blond gets back to his work almost instantly and it’s when he smells an unpleasant odor coming from Harry’s cauldron does he look over. “You’ve done something wrong, Harry,” He mutters, reaching over the boy to grab a few herbs before dropping them into his potion. “Stir that for a while. It should neutralize... whatever you’ve done wrong,” 

Harry can’t help but laugh, thanking the boy as he gets back to work. By the time the two of them had finished, class was minutes from ending and after they had turned their things in, they sit on their stools with their hands in their laps. Draco was thanking his lucky stars that his hands hadn’t acted up and Harry stayed mostly silent, unsure what to say. He and Draco were allies if anything. There was no way he would be able to call them friends, especially from the way Ron had been treating him. Right as they’re dismissed, Draco packs up his things quickly, wanting to meet Pansy as quickly as possible. She seemed to be the only thing that made life at Hogwarts even the slightest bit bearable. 

“Draco,” Harry calls before the boy could leave and Draco lets off a sigh before slowly turning toward the dark brunet. “Thanks for helping me out today,” 

“Yeah, it’s the least I can do since you did all that for me in the bathroom the other day,” The silver eyed boy replies, not meeting Harry’s gaze. “I’ll see you around, yeah?” He continues and Harry hums softly in response before letting Draco go, frowning at how frail and slim he was becoming yet shakes it off, knowing it was none of his business. He, unlike Ron, respected the boy’s privacy.

“Hey, Pans,” Draco greets the brunette with a small grin. 

“Hey Draco,” She replies with the larger smile of the two. “How was Potions with Potter?” 

Draco shrugs, not wanting to bring up the way he had helped him all because of his kindness from the night before so he simply says, “It was fine,” He then buries his hands deep into the sleeves of his sweater as the two walk back to their rooms. “Mine or yours?” Draco asks as they enter the common room. 

“Mine,” Pansy replies. There had only been a few occasions that Draco had been in Pansy’s room; they usually met in his or the common room so this was different and when the boy takes a chance to finally look around, he finds her room is decorated from floor to ceiling, something one wouldn’t expect from her. She had pictures of her with her family in picture frames and other things she had brought from home. The whole room made Draco’s bleak and boring in comparison. 

“How were your classes?” Draco asks and Pansy laughs lightly. 

“Well you were in most of them,” She points out causing the blond to roll his eyes and fall back on her bed. Pansy takes the space beside him, the two sitting in silence for a while before Draco’s hands start twitching and he winces, ashamed by it. When Pansy notices this, she takes them into her own and holds them firmly. 

“It’ll pass soon,” She promises and Draco nods although she had no real idea. She had never gone through this and Draco prayed she never would. No one deserved to feel like this. The tremors pass within a few minutes and the blond lets off a sigh of relief. Pansy gives them a squeeze once they had stilled and the two sit in silence, unsure what to say. What were they supposed to? Surely no one knew how to handle this. “I really think you should see Madam Pomfrey and your mom thinks so too,” Pansy speaks up and Draco sighs before sitting up. 

“Fine. But if she asks any questions--” 

“I’ll answer them because I know you won’t want to,” Pansy cuts in and Draco nods, glad she understood. The two walk to the hospital wing slowly, heads ducked down and once they get there, they find Harry speaking with the nurse. 

Draco groans quietly and Pansy rolls her eyes. “For God’s sake,” He mutters yet the two stand a few feet away, waiting to be noticed. 

Once the older woman finally does see them, she walks over after murmuring a final word to Harry and asks, “What seems to be the problem, loves?” 

“My hands. They um...” Draco starts but suddenly loses his nerve and Pansy cuts in quickly. 

“His hands shake a lot. They used Crucio on him a lot and that took a lot out of him,” The woman’s face pales at his words and she looks down at Draco’s forearm, finally remembering of his being a Death Eater yet, to the blond’s surprise, doesn’t judge him in the slightest.

“Alright, hun. Take a seat on one of the beds and I’ll look you over,” Draco nods, doing as he’s told and soon, the examination is over and Madam Pomfrey is giving him muscle stabilizers for each time the tremors would happen. “Take them when you need them and come back if you ever need anymore,” 

Draco nods thankfully and the two leave the hospital wing moments later. The blond is smiling at Pansy, grateful that she had spoken for him when he had choked up and when she looks over, she mimics the action. Soon enough it’s time for dinner and when the two head down, they’re surprisingly left alone. Draco had hoped Harry hadn’t heard what Pansy had told Madam Pomfrey and when he looks over at the brunet, he found him with his back to him, simply conversing with his friends which makes the blond sigh with relief. 

“Why do you keep looking over at Potter’s table?” Pansy asks and Draco shrugs. 

“I was afraid he heard us at the infirmary,” He admits and his friend nods. 

“You think he would tell anyone?” She asks and Draco finds himself shaking his head almost instantly and it was true. He couldn’t see Harry telling anyone, especially over something so personal. 

Once dinner had ended and Draco had managed to choke down half of his plate, the two of them head up to their rooms. They’re simply too tired to hang out in the common room and head to bed right away. As Draco slips into a tee shirt and pulls down his pants to sleep in his usual boxers, he hopes that he wouldn’t have any nightmares like he had the night before yet his prayers go unanswered. 

///

“You’re a failure. A coward, Draco,” His father tells him, voice sharp, faces inches from each other and Draco cowers away from him, terrified. He knew what his father was apart of and he wanted nothing to do with it. 

“I-I’m sorry but I don’t want this. I don’t want to be a Death Eater,” Draco murmurs. 

His father grabs him him by the jaw, grip harsh and strong. “You don’t have a choice,” Lucius growls and Draco struggles out of his grip with a glare. 

“Yes I do. I’ll leave the Manor with Mum and we’ll disappear. I don’t have to become something as filthy as you,” Draco snaps, a sudden burst a confidence causing these words to spill from his mouth. 

“You and your mother aren’t going anywhere,” Lucius replies, grabbing onto Draco once more and pulling him back, not allowing the boy to leave. 

“Yes we are! We’re leaving tonight and you can’t--” 

Draco is cut off by his father pointing his wand in his direction and hissing, “Crucio!” without hesitation. The blond falls to the ground, a broken scream falling from his lips. He shuts his eyes, writhing in pain and tears are quickly running down his cheeks. The pain subsides a few moments later and when Draco opens his eyes, he finds his father glaring his way with no mercy. 

“Pull anything like that again and things will be much worse for you. The Dark Lord will arrive within the hour and you’ll be getting the mark whether you like it or not,” The older man says, pushing his son to the ground without another glance.

///

When Draco awakens, he finds his pillow damp with tears. The silver eyed boy wipes his eyes only to find the back of his palms dampened as well. He swears under his breath, heading to the bathroom after throwing on a pair of sweatpants and is still terribly upset once having gotten there. He wipes at his face after dampening his hands, hoping to erase the tear tracks but sighs shakily when they’re still prevalent. The blond balls his hands into fists before punching the mirror and having it shatter both into the sink and into his knuckles. Waves of pain settle throughout his hand and Draco simply falls to the ground, eyeing the blood and shards of glass in his whitened knuckles. 

Minutes later, he hears footsteps nearing closer and Draco sighs shakily when Harry makes an appearance, eyeing him worriedly. “Draco, what happened?” The deep brunet asks as Draco continues to cradle his palm in his free hand. 

“I-- I keep having nightmares and I-- I can’t do this, Harry,” He murmurs, lip trembling. 

Harry crouches down beside the boy who had once been his enemy and takes his hand in his own, picking the shards of glass out of his skin as gently as possible. “What happened in your dream?” Draco quickly shakes his head at the question, not wanting to answer it so Harry continues. “It helps me to talk about them. Maybe it’ll help you too,” 

Draco sighs shakily, shutting his eyes tight, not wanting to look at the green eyed boy as he says, “This time it was about my father. We were arguing about my getting the dark mark and how I didn’t want it. When I brought up my mother and I running away, he lost it and used the Curciatus Curse on me for the first time,” 

The blond doesn’t see Harry’s eyes widen since his own were shut so Harry asks, “For the first time?” voice soft. 

“Yeah um, they used it on me often. The other Death Eaters, Voldemort and my father, of course. It was usually when I couldn’t complete a task but sometimes it was just because they were bored and needed entertainment. Apparently me screaming in pain was an incredibly amusing,” 

More tears had begun to roll down Draco’s face but he doesn’t notice them as he continues on with the explanation he had told Pansy. When he finally opens his eyes to gauge Harry’s reaction, he finds the brunet frowning deeply. “You did really go through so much. You were hurting and everyone judged you for it,” He murmurs. 

Draco nods before looking down at his hands. Harry had managed to get all of the shards out which now laid in a small pile beside them yet there were still small beads of blood present on the skin. “When I was crying the first night here, it was when I had told Pansy everything and just completely broke down. Then the other day Ron had touched a nerve with me, had taunted me about how I had been crying but he didn’t know what the fuck Pansy and I were talking about. I told her all about the curses and how my body took such a toll because of it. My hands are shaky, sometimes to the point where I can’t hold a goddamn fork so him making bloody comments isn’t exactly doing me any good,” 

He wasn’t exactly sure why he was telling Harry all of this but there was a certain element that lifted all of this pain from Draco’s chest, relieved he was finally able to tell someone apart from Pansy his story. He was glad that Harry wasn’t judging him, having gone through the same amount of emotional trauma. At some point, the brunet had rested his hand on top of Draco’s injured one yet neither of them pull away. “I’ve lost weight because I never ate much since becoming a Death Eater anyway. Starvation was another punishment I was given if they got tired of hexing me so now whenever I try to eat I end up getting sick. That’s why I had thrown up on the first night here so again, Ron’s comments aren’t exactly aiding me through this,” 

Draco runs a hand through his hair, not meeting Harry’s gaze but when the brunet runs his thumb over the top of his palm, much as Pansy had done, he feels a rush of heat blooming on his once pale cheeks. “I’ll talk to Ron, tell him to tone it down,” Harry promises and Draco sighs softly. 

“Please don’t tell anyone about this,” He begs and after a moment, Harry nods. 

“I won’t,” He promises and Draco nods, resting his head on Harry’s shoulder gently, afraid he was crossing boundaries but Harry only pulls the boy closer, wrapping his arms around him, enveloping him in warmth and safety which was exactly what Draco needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I'm a newbie to ao3, I was confused on whether or not italics and bold were allowed?? I feel like it's hard to distinguish Draco's dreams without it and every time I try to use it it won't work. Help??


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The scene with Harry and his parents is for plot purposes. I didn't just forget that Harry's parents died even though I wish they hadn't in reality.

Draco had been avoiding Harry the best he could for the next few days although he never had that luxury when he had his last class of the day. Potions had once been his favorite class but when he’s forced to sit beside the boy he had been avoiding since spilling all of his secrets, it seemed to put a damper on the whole lesson. 

“Want to be partners?” Harry asks as soon as Professor Slughorn had assigned the project. 

Draco nods hesitantly, knowing no one else in the class would want to partner up with him so he pushes back his cauldron and scoots closer to Harry’s. The two boys are inches apart, elbows and knees nearly knocking and Draco clears his throat awkwardly as he says, “We uh, we should probably start now,” 

Harry nods yet only watches as Draco gathers their ingredients, in awe at the way his slim fingers skimmed over the textbook page to make sure he had gotten everything right before beginning to throw things in and mix them together. His hands had started to shake halfway through and he was barely able to hold the spoon to stir it so he grits his teeth and says, “You going to contribute, Potter or are you just going to stand there?” 

The brunet notices the trembling of his hands, the blond looking terribly frustrated although he was trying hard to hide it so he doesn’t bother snapping back at him, trading places with him instead and continuing where he had left off. “Are you okay?” Harry murmurs, only quiet enough for the two of them to hear. 

“Yeah, I uh, I’ll be right back,” He mutters before asking Slughorn to be excused and quickly leaves the room. The walk back to his room seems to take forever, the twitching of his hands distracting him and making him wince the whole way there yet once he’s back in the familiar space, he grabs one of the vials Madam Pomfrey had given him, downing the potion once he had managed to unscrew the cap. The taste was bitter but after a few minutes, the shaking had ended and he was left with steady hands. Draco lets off a sigh of relief and heads back to potions, thankful for having gone to the infirmary after all. When Harry gives him a questioning look, Draco quickly explains the stabilizers in his room and how the nurse had instructed for him to use them whenever his muscles acted up and Harry nods understandably. 

“I’m sure teachers would let you leave whenever you needed if you just told them,” The emerald eyed boy says and Draco shakes his head instantly. 

“And explain how much being a Death Eater sucked? I’d rather not bring that up,” He replies before averting his gaze back to their potion and smiling slightly. “I see you managed not to screw anything up while I was gone,” He observes and Harry grins sheepishly. 

“I didn’t really add anything in. I just...stirred the whole time,” He mutters, ashamed which only causes Draco to laugh, the brunet instantly loving the sound of it.

“Well c’mon, I’ll teach you a few things so you won’t be leaning on me the whole time,” The blond chuckles while Harry flushes red, embarrassed at how much he struggled. 

“Okay,” He murmurs and then, for the rest of the class period, Draco teaches Harry a thing or two with unexpected patience. Once class had ended, the two pack up their things and Harry looks down at his hands while he asks, “Want to walk back to our rooms together?’ 

Draco gives him an odd look, trying to analyze the meaning behind the shorter boy’s words but as soon as he finds the question to simply be kind and genuine, he nods, tucking his textbook under his arm. Pansy had been standing outside of the classroom and when she sees the two boys together, she shoots Draco a confused look to which the blond only shrugs. The girl allows the two to walk past her, confused as ever as she watched them speak civilly with each other but lets it go.

“So this is your room?” Draco asks and Harry nods once they had gotten there. He allows the blond inside, the silver eyed boy looking around in awe. The brunet had decorated it in such a way that screamed Harry that he couldn't help but smile. “Those are your parents?” 

Harry nods yet again and grins at the picture Draco was referring to. “Yeah,” He replies. “That was a great day. It was when I got my wand before my first year. It was incredible. Their reactions were priceless,”

The blond hums softly, wishing his parents had had the same reaction. When he and his father had went for his wand, Lucius had paid little to no attention. His mother, if having been able to come would've been thrilled. “That's great, Harry,” He mutters and continues with, “I uh, I better get going,” 

The black haired boy nods and watches Draco leave with the slightest hint of hesitation. Once back to his room, Draco eyes his plain white walls before shuffling over to his trunk, pushing things aside before eventually finding what he had been looking for. Years ago before Draco had become a Death Eater, merely a preteen, he and his mother had been exploring around the city, his father having stirred up trouble days before so paparazzi had been following the young Malfoy and Narcissa, wanting answers yet the two had paid them no mind, trying to enjoy their day despite them.

The two had ended up at Honeydukes, a popular sweets shop in Hogsmeade, somewhere Draco didn't get to visit often since Lucius raised his nose at such shops but Narcissa had wanted to celebrate Draco's finally having gotten his wand so the two had snuck out without Lucius knowing. Narcissa had guided Draco around the shop, showing her son a few of her favorite candies from her childhood and had tricked the small blond into trying a terribly sour hard candy, resulting in Draco's lips puckered and eyes shut tight when a camera was flashed and the moment had been captured. 

It had been put into the Daily Prophet, an article written about it from an amateur journalist yet Draco had cut it out and kept it nonetheless. Although the article was mediocre and gave the moment no justice, Draco couldn't help but keep it along with the picture. He reads it over with a grin, running a thumb across the moving photo before pinning it up on the corkboard above his bed, not having thought to bring picture frames. As far as everyone knew, Draco wasn’t a very family oriented boy yet if they ever had the chance to see the relationship he had with his mother, one would think differently. 

The blond runs a hand through his hair, sitting in bed, face inked with distress. He wished that this whole ordeal hadn’t happen; that Voldemort hadn’t existed in the first place and that his father hadn’t been such a bad person. He pulls up the sleeve of his jumper to expose his mark, cringing at the sight of it. He wanted to have it removed if he could yet sadly, it was left on his skin forever no matter what he did and he had done a lot in desperation to lose it. His thoughts drift back to those of the war and his whole body tenses as memories continuously flash behind his eyes. 

Draco was broken beyond belief so when he broke down again for the umteenth time, he hadn’t surprised him. His breath had come quickly, both entering and leaving his lungs and he curls in on himself, shutting his eyes. He could still hear Bellatrix’s manic laugh, the woman taking pleasure in each victim that she killed and putting Draco down each time he couldn’t raise his wand and do the same. The memory of the harsh screams and pleads of those Voldemort had tortured kept the blond up at night. He had watched many of the Death Eaters torture countless witches and wizards, forced to witness the light leave their eyes each time the killing curse was cast.

Suddenly, all Draco wanted was Harry. The brunet seemed to be the only one who could fully understand his pain and after a few moments, the boy gets up from his bed, lightheaded from hyperventilation and stumbles back to Harry’s room, praying his friends weren’t there. He knocks shakily, breath still coming in short gasps and when the green eyed boy finally answers the door, his eyes widen at the shattered boy in front of him. “Draco, what’s going on?” He murmurs, wrapping an arm around his waist and pulling him inside. He shuts the door after sitting Draco safely on his bed before turning back to the grey eyed boy once again. 

“There’s so much pain, Harry. I... I don’t know what to do about it,” Draco whispers. 

The brunet lays beside Draco on his bed, thumb rubbing small circles into his hip and murmurs, “I know, Draco. I know how hard this is but you’re going to be okay,”

“I shouldn’t be complaining,” The taller of the two whispers. “I’m not the one who killed Voldemort. I’m not the one who’s sacrificed so much. I--” 

Harry hushes him softly. “You’re allowed to feel pain, Draco. You’re hurting and that’s okay. Sure, I’ve gone through some tough shit but so have you. I can’t even imagine what the war was like for you. So please don’t belittle yourself. Don’t feel guilty for breaking down because Merlin knows I do that all the bloody time. Don’t be afraid to come to me when you need it, even if you think it makes you weak because, in all reality, it definitely doesn’t,” 

Draco’s sobs had lessened to small gasps and sniffles, finding comfort in Harry’s words. After a few moments, he says, “You're cuddling me,” voice incredibly soft. 

“So? Do you want to stop?” Harry asks, sitting up.

Draco shakes his head quickly, grabbing ahold of the back of Harry’s shirt which smelt like safety and, oddly enough, cucumber melon and says, “No. N-No, I've just never done this with anyone. Please, just lay back down, Harry,”

The black haired boy looks back at Draco with a grin and kisses the tip of his nose. “As you wish,”

The action had surprised the blond yet he says nothing of it, only smiles when The Chosen One lays back down beside him, carding his fingers through his hair in the way he loved. “Thank you, Harry,” Draco murmurs and Harry only hums lightly before pulling Draco tighter in his arms.

Neither of the two boys would’ve seen this happening a year ago, having grown up despising each other but both Harry or Draco didn’t mind it and that made things between them even more special. They acted awkward around each other because they couldn’t find it in themselves to hate each other anymore. It was so unorthodox for both of them; new territory they were afraid of yet didn’t mind and that meant more to Draco than anything else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you guys think I'm a fast updater, you're wrong. I simply have the first 19 chapters written out. Much love x


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I accidentally posted chapter 5 with chapter 4 because I'm an idiot so I'm reposting in it's own part oops.

The blond had gone back to being quiet and reserved a few days later and Pansy knew this was a bad sign. “Draco,” She murmurs, nudging his elbow. “C’mon, have some breakfast,” 

The silver eyed boy looks over at his friend blankly before staring down at his plate which hadn’t been touched. “Right. Uh, sorry,” He mutters but doesn’t make an effort to grab his fork. The brunette was worried for Draco; he had been doing so well these past few days and now he was spiralling once again. 

They walk side by side to each one of their classes once they were dismissed and the blond doesn’t say much which worried Pansy further. The girl walks Draco to Potions at the end of the day, not trusting him to walk on his own and coaxes him into the classroom. She sees Harry nearing the classroom as well once Draco had already made his way inside and Pansy swiftly pulls the green eyed boy aside. “What’s up, Pansy?” Harry asks, confused as to why she wanted anything to do with him. They had never spoken; the brunet only hearing Pansy make snide comments at Ron each time he would snap at Draco. 

“I need you to keep an eye on Draco, okay? He said you two are partners in class or something? And that you two have just been getting along now or whatever so please... make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid. I can’t look after him all the time,” 

Harry nods, the same concern painted on Pansy’s face now etched onto his own. “I thought he was doing better,” He murmurs, frowning and Draco’s friend sighs. 

“I thought so too,” She replied before looking around to find the halls nearly empty. “Look, Potter, I’ve got to get going so just... make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid, okay?”

The Chosen One nods and as soon as he does, Pansy shoots him a grateful smile before disappearing. Harry walks into class seconds later and finds Draco fiddling with the legs of his cauldron, not having noticed him arrive. “Hey Draco,” Harry greets softly. 

The slender blond flinches slightly at his voice although it was barely above a whisper and upon seeing the brunet, smiles gently in his direction. “Hi, Harry,” He replies.  
The blond doesn’t say much else throughout the rest of the period, rather out of it but is soon pulled back in as soon as Professor Slughorn says, “Mr. Malfoy, I’m sure Mr. Potter would appreciate it if you did at least some of the work. He’s been brewing this potion on his own since we’ve started. If you hadn’t realized, this is a group project meaning you have to work too,” 

“Sorry Professor, I--” 

“Detention, Mr. Malfoy,” Slughorn interrupts and Draco frowns at his words, ducking his head. 

He moves closer to Harry, asking permission to stir the potion which Harry had managed to brew perfectly. “I should give that man a piece of my mind,” He mutters which causes Draco to instantly shake his head. 

“It’s fine, Harry,” The blond mumbles but Harry isn’t having any of it. 

“Professor, I’d just like to say that you shouldn’t scold Draco. He’s been helping me with my work since day one so I think he’s allowed to slack off for once,” He speaks up and Draco is blushing a bright red, all eyes on him. He wanted nothing more than to drown himself in whatever potion they were making. 

Their professor eyes Harry curiously before his eyebrows furrow and he says, “Fine, detention for the both of you,” 

Harry sits back down in his chair with a grin and Draco’s gaze holds heavy confusion. “What’d you do that for, Harry?” He murmurs, dropping a few more ingredients into their cauldron. 

“Didn’t want you to spend time in detention alone,” Harry replies which causes the smallest of smiles to make it’s way across Draco’s features. 

By the time class ends and all the other students had left, Professor Slughorn saunters over to the two students left idling by their cauldron. “So boys, I'm sure you both know why you're here,” Draco holds back a scoff, irritated and Harry jabs him in the side softly once he notices. “I've thought over your punishment and I'm going to have you scrub out the dirty cauldrons,”

Both the Slytherin and Gryffindor follow their professor's finger where he points to a pile of at least two dozen cauldrons and Harry lets off a soft groan which causes Draco to laugh quietly. Professor Slughorn then goes on to say they were free to leave once they were finished but magic wasn't allowed. “What?” Draco hisses in disbelief. 

Slughorn puts his hand out for the duo's wands, ignoring Draco's commentary. “Hand them over, boys. You'll get them back once you're done,”

With a final look in each other’s direction, Harry and Draco hand over their wands. The older man gives them a friendly smile and all Draco wanted was to rip it off of his face but instead says nothing as he and Harry walk over to the mountain of dirty cauldrons. Harry grabs a pad of steel wool and Draco eyes it with confusion as the two find spots on the floor. “What the bloody hell is that?” He asks and Harry can’t help but laugh. 

“It’s called steel wool. Muggles use it to clean cookware,” Draco’s eyebrows furrow but does as Harry orders when he says, “Here, do as I do,” He then grabs one of the cauldrons and positions it between his legs before going to scrub the inside, using swift circling motions until the shining metal blooms underneath. “See?” 

Draco nods and grabs another piece of steel wool, scooting closer to the brunet to grab a cauldron. “I’m probably going to do this wrong,” He mutters but mimics Harry’s actions, doing just fine. Around six cauldrons in, however, Draco’s hands begin to tremble and he drops the cauldron he had once been holding, the object making a loud clang as it hits the floor. The noise instantly alerts Harry and he looks over at the blond only to find him wincing at the twitching of his hands. “Goddamn it,” He whimpers, looking away from Harry, ashamed.

The brunet grabs a hold of Draco’s hands which wracked with tremors and watches as the grey eyed boy blinks back tears. “This’ll pass, Draco,” He whispers and the broken boy shakes his head, not believing him for a second. 

“I hate this, Harry. I hate this so much,” He whimpers.

“I know, and I'm so sorry,” The brunet murmurs. 

The trembling of Draco's dainty hands does eventually pass as Harry had promised and Draco says, “C'mon, Harry. Let's get back to working. I don't want to be here all night,” His words are sharp yet the green eyed boy knows it was all because Draco was embarrassed of Harry having witnessed the violent flutter of the delicate muscles in his hands, the blond not being able to hide away as it happened. 

By the time they had finished all of the cauldrons, nearly two hours had passed and both of the boy's hands were aching. “Merlin, my hands are killing me,” Harry groans, flexing his fingers after shoving his wand deep in one of his pockets. 

Draco simply laughs, nodding in agreement as the two walk back to the common room. This was new for them however, they never publicly showed a liking to each other. Sure, they were partners in class but as far as everyone else at Hogwarts knew, that was the only interaction the two shared. No one would even think of Harry being the one to soothe Draco during a meltdown or the blond falling asleep in Harry's Gryffindor hoodie. Those instances didn't make sense to them and, hell, it barely made sense to the two boys either. 

When they do get to their dorms, the two stand in the hallway awkwardly, not sure what to do next. “So uh, I'll see you at dinner?” Harry says yet it comes out like a question. 

“Of course,” Draco replies with the smallest of smiles. He then turns to the direction and Harry continues to stand in the hall, seemingly frozen there. 

A familiar deep brunet comes walking his way a few moments later, eyes blazing and pulls him near the common room fireplace, crossing her arms over her chest moments after. “When I said look after him, I didn't mean put him in detention, Potter,” Pansy hisses.

“I'm sorry,” Harry says sheepishly yet before he can continue, Pansy cuts over him with a sigh. 

“Was he alright though?” She questions. 

“His hands were acting up because Slughorn made up clean cauldrons and that took a toll on his muscles. We weren't able to use magic so we had to do everything manually,” Harry explains. 

Pansy pinches the bridge of her nose, unease written all over her face and says, “And I'm guessing he didn't go to take one of the potions Pomfrey gave him?” Harry shakes his head, looking nearly as distraught as the girl in front of him. “Alright, well, thanks, Potter,” She mutters before leaving the boy alone, the crackle of the fireplace the only thing filling the empty silence. 

***

Dinner had ended hours ago and Draco was trying his best to fall asleep ever since he had gotten back to his room. First, his mind wandered to Harry, how he had comforted the blond back in Potions and the way the two had been shooting each other subtle glances across the dining hall. The thought of Harry's warm touch the night Draco had crept to his room was what manages to lull him to sleep yet he doesn't stay that way for long. 

///

“C'mon Draco, do it,” Bellatrix urges, elbowing the blond with a murderous grin. 

The silvery eyed boy locks gazes with the frail woman in front of him, watches as sobs rip through her throat and tears cake her cheeks. He knew she must have a family, a husband, possibly children. She was someone's sister, daughter and lover. There was no way Draco could find it in himself to harm her. 

“I...can't,” Draco replies, making no action to raise his wand. 

“She has children working against the Dark Lord, Draco. They’re at Hogwarts planning against him right this moment. She’s the mother of traitors,” Bellatrix hisses and her words only cause the ache in the pit of Draco's stomach to worsen. She had children at Hogwarts. Where they kids he knew? His peers? 

“I won't-- I won't do it,” The blond says, watching as the curly haired woman beside him scowls. 

“Fine,” She snaps. “Then you're going to watch as I kill her,” Bellatrix pauses a beat before quickly pointing her wand at Draco which causes the boy's eyes to widen. “Petrificus totalus,” She says, the spell nearly coming out a cackle as soon as the young teen freezes to the floor, totally paralyzed. She then positions Draco forward, facing the woman before turning back to her herself and raising her wand in a swift motion. “Avada Kadavera,” The spell is cast quickly and Draco is forced to watch this woman die, witness the light leave her eyes as she shudders a final breath and in that moment, a bit of Draco dies with her.

///

Draco wakes up screaming and when he finally finds it in himself to open his eyes, he sees both Harry and Pansy on his bed, holding concerned glances. “Draco, what happened?” Pansy asks. 

The blond only then notices how both she and Harry were still in their nightwear; Pansy in boardshorts and a loose tank top and Harry in a baggy white tee shirt and pajama bottoms and he instantly feels guilty for waking the two of them. 

“I-I-- N-Nightmares,” He finally forces out, visibly shaking and when Harry notices this, he rubs his thumb over the top of Draco's hand which he hadn't noticed he was holding in the first place. He then remembers what Harry had told him one night in the bathroom, how it helped to talk about his dreams so he does. “Bellatrix, she-- she tried getting me to kill this innocent woman. She said that she had kids working here at Hogwarts helping to defeat the Dark-- V-Voldemort,” He stops himself then, letting out a choked sob and resting his head in his hands. “I told her I wouldn't do it so she-- she forced me to watch. She cast a spell on me t-to paralyze me so I couldn't look away. She made me witness what it was like watching an innocent woman die and I-- I c-can’t--” Draco pulls at his hair, tuffs of it stuck to his forehead with sweat and winces in pain. He doesn't mind it, however. Anything felt better than the harsh ache in his chest.

Harry locks eyes with Pansy who, moments before, had just been eyeing her best friend in pity. “I've got this,” He murmurs and the brown eyed girl nods hesitantly, patting Draco's knee gently before leaving, shutting the door softly behind her. “Draco, look at me,” Harry orders gently and the broken blond shakes his head, breathing rapidly. 

“H-Harry, I can't do this,” The blond whimpers into his knees which he had since pulled to his chest.

“Just look at me, Draco. I can't help you unless you let me,” The blond boy who had once been arrogant and cocky finally looks up at Harry, completely shattered. “There you are,” He whispers. “There are those beautiful grey eyes,” Harry then kisses between them, the action soft and caring yet nowhere near platonic. 

“I'm so sick of these nightmares. All this pain. All this hatred. I-- I want to die, Harry,” Draco stammers through sniffles, casting his eyes downward once again. 

Harry scoops Draco's face up in his palm, forcing their gazes to meet once again. “Draco Malfoy don't you dare say something like that ever again. Don't you even think it,” His voice is strong and causes Draco so shrink back, curling in on himself. 

“I-I’m sorry, Harry. I'm just such a coward. This mark makes me so disgusting. I'm scum.” The tears have reappeared in Draco's eyes now and he groans in frustration, tugging at his hair to the point of pain before Harry takes his arm which held the dark mark, lifting up his sleeve. 

“This mark doesn't define you, Draco. Not anymore,” The grey eyed boy pulls his sleeve back down before Harry could inspect it which only puts more attention to it, much to Draco's dismay. “Why do you keep hiding it from me? From everyone?”

“Because I'm ashamed of it,” Draco replies as if the answer was obvious. 

Harry pulls up the boy's sleeve once again, the blond squirming in discomfort and looks over the mark fully under the moonlight cast through Draco's window. Harry's lips dip low into a frown when he sees harsh scars littering every piece of the skull and he runs his thumb over the ruined skin. “Oh Draco...” He trails off and Draco pulls his arm back, pushing his sleeve down. 

“Maybe that's a part of why I hide it too. I didn't want you or Pansy or anyone seeing what I had done because it just... it shows how weak I was. In those moments that I brought that razor down I... I was weak, vulnerable but all I wanted was to get rid of this thing that marks me as impure because if there's one thing I hate most about myself it's this,” Draco's words were nothing but a whisper by the time he finishes and he moves away from Harry, wishing away all of this. “Now I... I just want to be alone. I'm sorry for waking you,” When Harry makes no move off his bed, Draco continues. “Please Harry. It's been a long night and I just want to forget about this,” 

Harry idles on Draco's bed for a moment longer before nodding and heading toward the door. “Alright,” He says. “Just remember my door is always open if you need to talk. Goodnight, Draco,” And then he was gone.


	6. Chapter 6

“Damn it,” Draco mutters, rummaging through his clothes. All of them were unwashed, the blond having a habit of forgetting to do laundry so when he sees all he had left to wear was a pair of black jeans and Harry’s Gryffindor hoodie, he groans, letting off another swear as he slips it on. 

Taking a final look in the mirror, he sighs, tugging on his shoes and leaving for Pansy’s room instead. He knocks even though he knew he wouldn't need to and Pansy eyes him suspiciously once she takes in the black hoodie swallowing his lanky frame. “What in Merlin’s name are you wearing?” She asks. 

“Um, Harry gave me his clothes one night when some pricks stole my clothes when I was having a shower and all of my clothes are dirty so I resorted to his,” Draco's voice is small, already feeling insecure under his friend's gaze and Pansy shakes her head, sighing.

“C'mon, we've got to go to breakfast. Just don't be surprised when people look at you,” She says, pulling Draco along lightly. Once the two make it to the great hall for breakfast, Draco sits down quickly, trying to hide the Gryffindor symbol printed on the front with his arms which he had crossed tightly over his chest. “You can't stay like that forever,” Pansy points out and Draco groans, knowing she was right.

“I know,” He mutters. 

Breakfast is over quickly and Draco walks with his head down to nearly every class. It's when he bumps into Ron that he finally gets some attention to his outfit. “You wearing a Gryffindor hoodie? That's rich, Malfoy. Who're you fucking now to be able to steal their clothes?”

“I'm not fucking anybody,” Draco murmurs. “My clothes aren't any of your concern anyway, Weasley so sod off and leave me alone,” His words are muted, quiet and nothing like they had been that night in the common room when he had his wand pointed to Ron's throat.

“I just want answers since you're so bloody mysterious,” Ron continues as if he hadn't even spoken. “So c’mon Malfoy, tell me. Whose clothes are those? Who would be pathetic enough to want anything to do with you?” Draco says nothing, only balls his hands into fists and bites the inside of his cheek. “We all heard you screaming like a little bitch last night too so now you've got all of Hogwarts wondering what's possibly got you, a disgusting Death Eater so shaken up so you might as well clear the air,” 

Draco sets his jaw, scowling and merely shoves past him, not wanting to retaliate. When he gets to Potions he lets off an irritated huff as he walks over to his usual seat, Harry already having arrived. “What's got you so heated?” He asks with a teasing grin and Draco merely rolls his eyes. 

“Your bloody friend Weasley is the problem, Potter,” He snaps. 

Harry doesn't ask questions, only frowns at his words, hurt running through his system when Draco ignores him the entire class. They had gone back to individual assignments so Draco couldn't be there to save the brunet when he ruined his potion, the blond not even glancing in his direction. The green eyed boy is asked to stay back and finish his potion, having to start over once he had ruined it and when he looks down at his work station, he finds a small piece of parchment haphazardly tossed in his direction. 

You have to finely chop the dragon horn to a powder before adding it into your potion, not lazily crack it into pieces and throw it in. No wonder you're so terrible at this, Potter. You always fail at following directions. 

-DM

Harry finds himself smiling softly at the broken cursive before folding the parchment and shoving it into his pocket. He pays close attention to detail this time and once he's finished, his potion has been brewed to perfection. Slughorn slaps him on the back with approval and Harry only shoots him a small smile before leaving and heading back to the common room. He finds Draco and Pansy sat together on one of the couches, Draco's legs draped over Pansy’s lap, laughing wholeheartedly at something Pansy said, head thrown back and sweater paws covering his mouth. That's when he noticed it was his hoodie Draco was wearing. 

The blushing brunet walks past the two Slytherins and goes to his room, sighing. Seeing Draco in his clothes set a fire deep inside Harry. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed it all throughout Potions. Although he would never tell the boy, Harry thought Draco looked absolutely adorable in his clothes and he could only wonder how he would look in other articles of his wardrobe.

Shaking the thought away, Harry lays back on his bed, groaning. This boy was affecting him in more ways than one and he wasn't sure what to think of it. Why hadn't he had a pull toward Draco like this years ago? Was it because the war changed them both? 

Harry runs a hand through his hair, frustrated and shuts his eyes, fighting off a stress headache. Where had these feelings come from in the first place? He never had a pull toward the boy like this before. Sure, there was tension between them but it never made Harry feel like this. He thinks back to the time the two had cuddled and the way Draco had pulled at the back of his shirt, begging him to stay. The action in itself had caused Harry to feel undeniably important and precious to Draco even though he knew deep down he wasn't. 

“Harry!” When the boy looks back at the voice he finds Oliver Wood in the doorway. “A few of the guys are trying to set up a Quidditch game. You in?”

“I didn't think to bring my broom,” Harry frowns.

“We've got a load of extras. C'mon, Potter. We need you,” 

The brunet take a moment to think it over before eventually nodding. “Sure,” He finds himself saying. “I'll play,”

Wood grins wide, slapping Harry on the back and the two walk down to the Quidditch pitch. They get changed into their uniforms quickly and Harry tries to wrap his head around this. It seemed like centuries since he had last played a game and yet he was jittery with both nerves and excitement. Oliver, who was yet to leave Harry's side says, “Can't believe they're letting Malfoy play,” with a scoff when they see the blond fiddling with a broom that definitely wasn't his, an extra, much like his own. 

“He's Slytherin’s best Seeker. How could they not?” 

They all line up around Madam Hooch, many of the usual players missing, and when she tells them to mount their brooms, Harry wobbles on his at first which only causes Draco to laugh. “Training for the ballet, Potter?” He taunts teasingly. 

“Just a bit rusty, Malfoy. I'm sure you are too,” He replies before looking Draco up and down in his uniform. It was green with the house’s signature snake on the breast pocket. Although it was made to be loose, Draco seemed to drown in it.

Before he's able to pull himself together, Madam Hooch is blowing the whistle and the game begins. Draco instantly shoots after the Snitch, Harry following behind and after a moment, the blond looks back and says, “You'll never catch me, Potter!” before accelerating toward the Snitch. 

Harry follows quickly after him and soon enough, the two are side by side. They're higher up now, a film of fog diluting their vision from their place higher up in the clouds and they both lose sight of the golden speck. Draco moves higher up, hoping that would aid his vision yet freezes as soon as a black figure crosses his peripherals. 

He's instantly enveloped in icy chills as the Dementor nears closer and soon enough, it's face to face with him. Draco's face is paper white and his grip is slippery on his wand yet he somehow manages to take it out. “E-Expecto Pat--” He starts but is stopped short when the Dementor nears closer and suddenly the chill in the air seeps into his veins and his breath seems to solidify in his chest. 

Suddenly, his body goes still, vision lost and all he can hear is his father's harsh words; calling him a coward and saying he was ashamed to call Draco his son, could hear his mother screaming each time she had shielded Draco from the Curciatus Curse, taking it instead and before he knows it, he's fallingfallingfalling.

***

When Draco awakens, he's welcomed to the smell of coffee grounds and cucumber melon. His eyes flutter open and he sees Pansy and Harry asleep in chairs beside his hospital bed. “H-Harry,” He says, voice soft and isn't surprised when the boy doesn't stir. “Harry,” He tried again, this time coming out a bit louder. “Harry,” He calls a final time and suddenly the green eyed boy hears him, sitting up in his chair. 

“Draco,” Harry breathes, relieved to see him awake. 

“What happened?” 

“You don't remember anything?” The brunet asks, eyebrows furrowed. 

“I... I remember looking for the Snitch up in the clouds. I had lost you somehow, and then everything got so cold and I saw a Dementor,” Draco whispers. “I-- I tried casting a Patronus but it got to me too quickly. Then it... started to kill me and take my soul. I could hear my mum screaming like she had each time she took a curse for me and--” He stops then, shut his eyes to will away tears and clutches his head which ached painfully. “My head hurts,” He whimpers.

“I'll call in Madam Pomfrey,” Harry replies quickly before getting up and looking for the nurse. 

Draco sits up, the action causing him to hiss with pain but somehow manages to grab onto Pansy’s hand and give it a squeeze. She wakes from her slumber at the action and eyes Draco worriedly. “Draco, oh my god,” She says, getting up and pulling her friend in for a light hug. “I was so worried about you, you idiot,” 

The blond takes a deep breath, welcoming her touch and is hit with the scent of coffee grounds, a scent that was something so unbelievably Pansy it made him smile. “You're always worried about me,” He murmurs into her neck. 

Pansy pulls away, laughing with a slight roll of her eyes. “You're not wrong,” She says which makes Draco chuckle as well.

“What happened after I fainted?” The blond asks. 

“You broke a rib or two on your way down. My guess is a Bludger caught you on the way but Harry caught you on his broom before you hit the ground,” Pansy explains.

Madam Pomfrey comes scuttling in before Draco can ask any more questions, holding a few vials and hands them off to the broken blond moments later. “Drink those,” She commands. Draco nods with a grateful smile and downs them quickly. Both of them taste bitter and the blond shivers, grimacing with disgust causing Harry and Pansy to laugh. 

The brunet goes back to his seat yet scoots closer to Draco's hospital bed and grabs ahold of his hand. “Thank you for catching me,” The silver eyed boy murmurs. 

“It's not a problem, Draco. I'm just glad you didn't die,” Harry chuckles and his words cause Draco to roll his eyes yet his lips twitch into the smallest of smiles. 

There's the faint sound of feet on marble and moments later, Hermione is walking into the hospital wing. “Harry--” She starts before taking in the scene in front of her, the brunet holding hands with Draco Malfoy and stops in her tracks. “Oh Draco, you're awake!” She says with a smile and the silver eyed boy nods. “I'm glad you're alright. Harry and I were worried,” 

“Oh uh, thanks, Granger,” Draco replies, confused at her concern.

The brown eyed girl then turns to Harry and says, “I was just going to get you for dinner,” 

The green eyed boy looks over at Draco, blushing when his stomach growls and says, “You mind if I go have dinner?” 

Draco shakes his head instantly and says, “No, go ahead. You too, Pansy. I’ll probably just end up going back to sleep,” The three of them nod hesitantly and leave the room after giving Draco final goodbyes and, as promised, Draco does end up drifting back to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the plot thickens... Much love xx

It's two days after Draco gets released from the hospital wing that he goes to Harry's dorm uninvited. He's holding a stack of books in his hands, Harry's hoodie draped around his small frame and struggles to knock on the hard oak. Once Potter had opened the door, he finds Draco smiling sheepishly which causes a grin to melt across his face as well.

“Hey Draco,” He says, allowing the boy in. 

The blond takes a seat on Harry's bed, the brunet sitting beside him and says, “I brought you these potions books from the library. I can't go saving you all the time throughout class and I read up on these a few years ago so I figured they'd help you out without my constant babysitting.” Harry blushes a deep red, embarrassed which only causes Draco to smirk. “And,” He continues. “I brought you your hoodie back. I haven't washed your pants yet so I figured I could just bring them another time,”

Harry watched as Draco stood, handing the books off to him before pulling the hoodie up over his head, the smallest stripe of bare skin on his hips showing when his shirt rode up. “Th-Thanks,” Harry stammers, taking the article of clothing from him. He folds it quickly before throwing it onto his desk chair, hoping he didn't look as frazzled as he felt. 

“You look a bit busy,” Draco says, motioning toward the stack of books Harry had thrown his hoodie on top of. “So I think I'll let you get back to work,” 

“No,” Harry says quickly. “You don't have to. I... I need help, really,”

Draco raises an eyebrow with curiosity and sits on the edge of Harry's bed while the brunet takes a seat in his desk chair. “With what?” He asks. 

“Um... Potions,” 

The blond chuckles and points to the books he had just handed off. “Those should help, Potter,” He says through another laugh. 

“I’m not good at absorbing information.” Harry admits. “I do better when I’m studying with someone else,” 

“So you want me the Slytherin Ice Prince to help you?” Draco snorts with a playful roll of his eyes and Harry nods bashfully. “It’s such a stupid name. Slytherin Ice Prince.” Draco scoffs before motioning for the green eyed boy to sit on the bed beside him. Once Harry had, the silver eyed boy grabs one of the books he had gotten the Gryffindor and flips open to chapter one. He skims over the text before looking back up at Harry and saying, “Okay, so I’m going to give you a list of ingredients and you’re going to tell me what they can be used for, yeah?” 

“Okay,” Harry murmurs yet all he had been paying attention to was Draco’s lips and the way he spoke with such certainty over the subject. 

Draco takes parchment and a quill with ink from Harry’s desk and uses the Potions textbook as a flat surface to write and the black haired boy watches as he does so. He recognizes Draco’s handwriting from the note he had left with the tanner boy a few days back when he was held to finish his potion and finds himself smiling softly. 

“C’mon, Potter. Take the parchment,” The blond says sooner than Harry expected and is brought back to reality which shows Draco dangling a scroll of parchment in his face. Blushing, Harry takes it and the quill from the boy and starts scribbling down answers, eyebrows furrowed the whole time. “You know, Harry, if you really just wanted me to stay you could’ve just said so without making up some excuse,” 

Draco’s words break Harry’s concentration and he looks up, green eyes meeting grey only to find the blond smirking slightly.

“I-I...” Harry starts before his words get lost in his throat, suddenly realizing just how close the two of them were. Their knees were touching, fingers brushing together across his bedspread yet neither of them pull away from each other. 

“I saw the way you looked at me when you saw me in the common room with Pansy the day I wore your sweater. I knew how much you loved seeing me in it,” Draco begins before getting up and heading over to Harry’s wardrobe. “Come to think of it, it wouldn’t surprise me if you’d want to see me in any of your other clothes. How about I put on a show for you, Harry?” The blond continues and Harry finds himself nodding slowly, mesmerized by Draco’s swift moments. 

Draco makes a show of swishing his hips as he walked and opens the closet, peering in at all the clothes inside before picking out a grey button down shirt. He’s grinning mischievously as he takes off his own shirt and swaps it for Harry’s, buttoning it quickly but making sure to leave the first few undone to show off the skin of his collarbones. He takes off his jeans, fishing around the brunet’s wardrobe once more before grinning devilishly and leaves his lower half bare.“So how do I look, Harry?” Draco asks, fiddling with the bottom of Harry’s shirt which covered his boxer clad thighs. 

“You look incredible,” Harry murmurs.

“Yeah?” The grey eyed boy asks with a quirked eyebrow although he already knew how well he was working the brunet. The boy was just about drooling. 

“Yeah,” Harry replies breathlessly which causes Draco to grin. 

“Do you want to touch me?” He asks finally, moving closer to the shorter boy who was sat on the edge of his bed, eyes wide. 

“Please,” 

Draco grins, walking over to the bed before biting his lip softly and musters up the courage to straddle the boy. “Then touch me, Harry,” The brunet nods slowly before running his hands under the baggy fabric of his shirt, rough and calloused fingers taking in the expanse of Draco’s chest before he removes them and runs his fingers through Draco's hair instead. “Kiss me,” The blond orders and it's so quiet Harry almost doesn't hear him.

The green eyed boy doesn’t waste any time, however. He’s quick to press his pigmented lips to Draco’s thinner ones. The two just sit there at first, unmoving for a moment, surprised this was even happening. Weren’t they supposed to hate each other?

Both boys push these thoughts away and Draco tugs at the hair at the nape of Harry’s neck gently, emitting a soft whimper from the tanner boy. Draco then goes to work on the boy’s neck, leaving light hickeys which he knew would fade by morning; Harry would surely kill him if he left anything darker, yet he didn’t seem to complain. If anything, the brunet was encouraging him with beautiful whimpers and gasps. “Feel good?” Draco asks against the sensitive skin of Harry’s collarbones. 

“Yes,” Harry breaths, surprised at how skilled Draco was with his mouth. 

Harry’s bedroom door opens before Draco can reply and the blond stays frozen in Harry’s lap, a look of horror etched onto his face when he sees Hermione standing in the doorway. “Fuck!” He hisses, finally falling out of Harry’s grip and landing on the floor with a thud. 

“Shit, Draco, are you okay?” Harry asks hurriedly, not even having acknowledged Hermione. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just... Hermione, you can’t-- You can’t tell anyone,” Draco says, turning to the brown eyed girl who was staring at the two with disbelief. 

The Gryffindor girl nods slowly, still in a state of shock and Draco scrambles to get his jeans back on, blushing furiously. “I won’t,” She promises and Draco nods yet doesn’t look satisfied with the answer. “How long has this been going on?” 

“Since... tonight,” Harry finally speaks up and when the blond looks over, he finds Harry blushing as deep of crimson as he was. 

“When were you going to tell me you liked boys, Harry?” Hermione asks and Harry looks down at his hands, chewing over his reply. 

“I don’t,” Harry says instinctively which causes Draco to snort with amusement. 

“It’s no big deal, Harry. I just... I would never have guessed it would be with Malfoy,” Hermione admits. 

“Me either,” Harry replies which, in turn, causes Draco to roll his eyes. 

“Really boosting my self esteem, Potter,” The blond grumbles, arms crossed over his chest, still dressed in Harry’s shirt with no intention on changing out of it. “Now, I’m going back to my room now but would like it if you accompanied me there,” 

Harry chuckles before nodding and getting up from his bed. When Draco looked down he noticed Harry was sporting a semi he was trying to hide in the waistband of his jeans but had done a terrible job at doing so which causes the silver eyed boy to grin. “I’ll be back in a minute, Hermione. Then you can tell me whatever you needed to tell me and there’ll be no more talk about... this,” He says dismissively before he and Draco leave his room. 

“That was something,” Draco mutters, not meeting Harry’s gaze. 

“Is it something you want to keep doing?” The brunet asks, scooping Draco’s chin up in his thumb and forefinger, forcing their gazes to lock. 

“Y-Yes,” Draco stammered, blushing red all over again. “I’ll see you at dinner,” He continues, taking a look around to see if the hall was clear before hesitantly leaning down to press his lips to Harry’s. 

“I look forward to it,” Harry says, grinning wide which causes Draco to roll his eyes, and when Harry turns to leave, Draco smacks his ass lightly causing the green eyed boy to yelp softly in surprise. 

“Malfoy!” He hisses, turning back around to glare at the blond. 

“See you at dinner, Potter,” Draco repeats with the slightest wink before disappearing into his room.


	8. Chapter 8

Draco stands in front of the mirror, wiping away it's shower steam and frowns at his reflection. Although he wasn't as thin as he was during his earlier school years at Hogwarts, he was still angular in a way he found horribly unattractive. The blond traces over his scars, made by Harry and his father, frown only deepening. 

Draco sighs, running a hand through his damp hair and walks back to his room at the Manor. Winter break had started two days ago and Draco was glad to be home. He missed his mother; although they owled each other regularly it wasn't the same as seeing each other in person. Draco thought about telling Narcissa about whatever he has with Harry but decided to keep it a secret for now. He wanted to figure out whatever the hell this was before anyone found out.

The silvery eyed boy leaves his room after getting dressed and when he sees his mother curled up on the couch in the living room he smiles softly. “Tea, mum?” Draco asks as he passes her. 

“That would be lovely, dear,” Narcissa smiles.

Draco walks into the large kitchen, filling up a tea kettle and setting it on the stove. He found himself enjoying doing small things by hand the muggle way instead of using magic. A few moments pass with the blond idling by the stove before Draco grabs a scone from the dozen he had found on the counter. The Malfoy’s newest house elf made the best scones to date and Draco could spot them from a mile away.

The kettle begins to blare halfway through his scone and Draco stumbles over to it, biscuit still between his teeth as he grabs two cups with tea bags and begins steeping them in the boiling water. After adding the desired amount of sweetener, Draco takes out his wand, casting a quick levitation spell on the teacups and walks out of the kitchen with the platter of scones in hand. He sets the teacups and the scones on the coffee table in the living room, sitting beside his mother on the couch, quickly finishing off his food, shooting Narcissa a goofy grin. 

“Thank you, my little dragon,” His mother murmurs, kissing her son's forehead. The two sit in silence for a few moments, quietly sipping their tea before Narcissa asks, “Draco, during the war, if your father hadn't called you over to Voldemort’s side, would you have stayed on Harry's?”

Draco nods instantly, sighing as he says, “The only reason I came over was to make sure you were never alone with Father. I didn't trust him. I still don't and I'm glad he's locked up in Azkaban,”

Although his words are harsh, Draco looks up to find his mother nodding in agreement. “Me too, my sweet boy,” Narcissa replies, putting her hand on top of her son’s before the two sip their tea, no other words exchanged. 

*** 

Although Draco wouldn't admit it, he missed Harry. He missed the brunet's stupid comments and how bad he was at Potions but most of all he missed the way Potter would whimper needily under Draco's touch. The boy was so powerful yet seemed so weak once in contact with the blond's skin. 

The two of them had continued fooling around ever since that night in Harry's dorm and Draco now had an impressive amount of the green eyed boy’s clothes in his wardrobe. Whenever Draco would try to give them back to Harry, the boy almost always refused and although Draco felt a twinge of guilt for hoarding Harry's clothes, he didn't fret over it too much. 

Harry had owled Draco one day before break ended and although the blond would undoubtedly tease him for it, Draco's heart warmed like a burning ache in his chest just holding the parchment. He could only imagine Harry sitting around writing the letter, Ron and George teasing him for it and asking who it was for yet Harry would never let up to tell. 

Draco finally unfolds the aged parchment, skimming over Harry's words with a grin. 

Draco, 

I hope your break is going well. How're your hands? I hope you didn't run out of the potion Pomfrey gave you or forgot to pack them altogether. That seems like a very you thing to do.

I know we never talked about it or anything but I got you a Christmas present. I never seemed to find an opportunity to get you alone before we all boarded the train back home so I'd like to give it to you on the way home. Meet me in the bathroom ten minutes after boarding. 

See you then, 

-HP 

Draco is blushing the slightest shade of pink once he had finished reading Harry's letter. He had gotten Potter a present as well and was rather nervous to give it to him, hoping he would like it. Deep down he Harry would, with the impeccable manners that he had, Harry would be grateful if Draco had given him an old pair of his own boots. 

Smiling slightly at the thought, Draco drifts off to sleep only to be woken by his mother a few hours later, beckoning him to get dressed so he wouldn't be late to the train. The blond gets ready in record time before grabbing his luggage, kissing his mother goodbye before apparating to the Hogwarts platform. Narcissa had apologized multiple times on not being able to come with him, her having been on house arrest thanks to Lucius’s actions but Draco had reassured her that it was fine and that he promised to write her regularly. 

It doesn't take long for Draco to find Pansy but that wasn't a surprise; she was the girl with the midnight hair glaring at everyone who passed her. “Hey,” Draco grins upon approaching her. 

“Hey,” Pansy replies, grimace morphing into a genuine smile. “How was your break?” She asks as they board the train.

“It was alright. How was yours?” Draco questions as they find a compartment. 

“It was great. I really missed my mum and dad. Is Narcissa doing alright?” 

“Better without my father there,” Draco replies, tone sharper than intended. They're bathed in silence as the train picks up on its journey to Hogwarts and Draco anxiously checks his pocket watch for ten minutes to pass. Once they do, Draco excuses himself to the bathrooms where Harry had ordered him to wait only to find the brunet already there. 

“Hey,” Harry greets with a smile, the two cramped in the small cubicle. 

“Hey,” Draco laughs. 

Harry kisses the blond softly and Draco quickly complies, missing the feel of Harry's lips on his own. “Missed you,” The brunet mumbles against the taller boy's lips. 

Draco hums softly before pulling away and taking Harry's present from his robes. “I got you a present too. Picked it up a few weeks before break,” 

When Draco looks up at the tanner boy he finds him grinning wide, taking out Draco's present as well. Draco's present was thick, wrapped in Gryffindor coloured paper, much to Draco's dismay while Harry's present was thin, wrapped in silver paper, a similar shade to Draco’s eyes. “You open yours first,” Harry insists and Draco nods hesitantly before tearing the paper away gently. 

He finds a sleek black box holding whatever it was inside and the blond bites his lip with confusion as he undoes the latch. “Harry...” Draco trails off, eyeing the dozens of vials filled with clear liquid, reading the parchment Harry had stuck to the inside of the box. 

“They're muscle stabilizers. I brewed them all myself, asking Slughorn if I could come during my lunch period to make them. They're stronger than the ones Pomfrey gave you and should stop the trembling almost instantly. I asked for a recipe that could help but didn't tell him it was for you.” Harry explains. 

“How’d you convince him to let you do all this without a reason why?” Draco asks, voice coated in gratitude. 

“I defeated the Dark Lord. I'm basically a legend and can get whatever I want as long as I ask,” 

Draco chuckles with a roll of his eyes. “Alright, Potter. Your turn,” He says, gesturing to the present in his hands. 

Harry nods, looking down at his present and rips the paper, showing off a deep brown wand with a thick handle. “Is this my...” He trails off in disbelief. 

“I went to Ollivander, looking through all the wands in his shop and asked for one as close to yours as I could get and that's what he gave me. I remember you telling me how your wand broke during the war so I took it upon myself to get you another one,” Draco says, blushing slightly. 

“Draco, this... This is incredible. Thank you!” Harry beams. “It must've cost so much though,” He continues, eyebrows furrowing. “New wands are never cheap,”

“Don't worry about it, Potter. I doubt my Gringotts vault is going to empty out anytime soon,” Draco laughs. “Now, are you going to make it up to me or not?” He continues, smirking. 

“How?” Harry asks and watches as Draco taps his lips gently, waiting for Harry to kiss him. The brunet does as Draco suggested, meshing their lips together in a sweet kiss, tugging at his hair gently, emitting the smallest of moans from the taller boy. Harry then goes to work on Draco’s neck, unbuttoning the first few buttons of his dress shirt to give him access to Draco's collarbones. The green eyed boy leaves deep hickeys on his porcelain skin, satisfied with his work once he pulls away. “Was that a good enough thank you?” Harry chuckles and Draco nods before taking a look in the mirror. 

“For the love of Salazar, Potter! I wasn't expecting you to leave this many marks! And they're so dark!” Draco hisses in disbelief but Harry is quick to notice how Draco had no intention on rebuttoning his shirt. “But,” He continues, moving to the shell of Harry's ear. “I guess that just means I'll have to get you back sometime,” 

Draco then pecks Harry's lips lightly before leaving the bathroom, holding his present as if it were his most prized possession. He runs into Luna on his way back to his compartment and the smaller girl says, “Oh hello Draco,” with a smile before taking in the hickeys lining his neck and collarbones. She then meets the blond's gaze again before asking, “Have you seen Harry? He's been gone for a while now,”

Draco shakes his head quickly, clearing his throat before saying, “Oh no, I haven't seen him. Sorry Luna,” and shoots her a small smile before continuing back to his compartment. 

“Didn't know you receive gifts on bathroom trips, Draco,” Pansy teases yet there's a twinge of curiosity in her tone.

“A friend and I exchanged Christmas presents,” Draco explains quietly, grinning at the mere thought of his encounter with Potter. 

“Were hickeys apart of your present?” Pansy snorts with a raised eyebrow causing Draco to go beet red.

“U-Uh,” The blond stammers. “It was more of a thank you for my gift I got him,” He mumbles, looking down at his hands. 

“Him?” Pansy questions with surprise and Draco nods. “Does this person have a name?”

“Um, no...?” Draco lies, finally looking up at his friend to find her looking endlessly intrigued. 

The train comes to a stop in front of Hogwarts and Draco is quick to leave his seat, wanting to escape from Pansy’s interrogation. “We're not finished with his conversation, Draco!” Pansy informs him, voice holding the smallest bit of discipline and Draco sighs, knowing he wouldn't be able to get out of this. He knew there was no real harm in Pansy knowing about him and Potter but the whole idea of the two of them was like a forbidden secret.

The two walk back to their familiar dorms, Draco managing to steer their conversations away from his very obvious hickeys and Pansy watches as the blond sets whatever his present was onto his bedside table with an enormous amount of care. “Alright, let’s go to dinner,” Draco says finally and Pansy nods, following her friend out the door. 

It’s halfway to the Great Hall when Draco and Pansy run into the Golden Trio and Ron decides to make comments. “Where’d those hickeys come from, Malfoy?” He grins, pointing at the dark marks on his neck. “Who’d have thought you’d be able to find someone who’d want anything to do with you. Bet it was you, wasn’t it, Pansy? Always knew you were a slut,” 

Draco’s eyes suddenly blazed with anger and he grabs Ron by his robes, pressing him up against the closest wall before saying, “You can say whatever you want about me, Weasley, but don’t you ever talk low of Pansy, you hear me?” 

The redhead nods slowly, fear present in his entire stature and Draco lets go of him, shaking his head at the boy before turning back to the deep brunette. “C’mon, Pansy.” He mutters, taking his fellow Slytherin’s hand and walking the two of them to the Great Hall. 

“Merlin, Draco. I didn’t know you had that in you,” Pansy says once they had taken a seat down at their housing table. 

“I don’t care what Ron says about me but I won’t allow him to talk down about you,” Draco replies, voice low and still holding the same amount of anger tracing his tone. 

“You looked hot though. You should’ve seen the way Potter was looking at you, like he wanted to jump your bones. Maybe he was the one who gave you those hickeys,” Pansy teases yet Draco’s face drops because little did she know, she was completely right.


	9. Chapter 9

“Pansy knows about us,” Draco murmurs into Harry’s ear, momentarily unlocking their lips to stammer out the confession. 

“So? Hermione knows too,” Harry replies, unfazed. 

Draco lets off a sigh of relief, glad Harry didn’t mind and continues to kiss the boy, hard and hungry against his lips and Harry only seems to be egging him on. Draco takes the bait, leaving large, dark hickeys all around Harry's neck, much more intense than the ones the brunet had given him two nights ago on the train and grins at the sight of them. “I hope you’ve got nowhere to be, pretty boy. You and I both know you wouldn’t dare hide these,” He mutters, breath fanning over the fresh bruises causing Harry to shiver slightly.

“Got studying with Ron and Hermione later but I can always be a bit behind,” 

“Always fashionably late,” The blond chuckles, pressing his lips to the brunet’s softly. “C’mon,” He continues before pulling away from the shorter boy. “I don’t want you being late to see them. It’ll raise suspicion,” 

“Who cares?” Harry pouts, bottom lip Draco oh so eagerly wanted to kiss jutting out slightly which causes the silver eyed boy to roll them. 

“I care and I’m sure your friends do too,” Harry sighs, sitting up and brushing himself off before heading over to his mirror and trying to sort out his hair. “You’re never going to get it to lay flat,” Draco laughs, getting up from Harry’s bed and walks over to the boy, spinning him around until they’re face to face. The taller boy then goes to work, carding his fingers through Harry’s hair softly for a few moments yet the action does little to tame Harry’s mane. 

“If I’m not to be late I really have to get going,” Harry frowns after a few moments of this and Draco nods, displeasure coursing through him. 

“Alright, well meet me on top of the Astronomy tower afterward, yeah?”

“Sure,” Harry smiles, pecking Draco’s lips once more before leaving him behind. The blond tiptoes around Harry's room, taking in every bit of character it held before stumbling over to his wardrobe, picking out another item of clothing and leaving the room. 

Draco knew it was a mistake coming up to the Astronomy tower the moment he made it up the dozens of steps a few hours after leaving Harry's dorm. He couldn't get the ghost of his former self, wand raised at his old Headmaster out of his head, wanting nothing more than to banish it from behind his eyes. His hands begin to tremble with unease, mouth gone cotton dry. He wanted to run and hide away from this poisonous feeling burning in his veins but he seemed to be rooted to the spot, unable to flee. 

The blond stays that way, frozen on unstable joints for what felt like hours, tears falling down porcelain cheeks until Harry arrives. “Draco?” He calls, confused at the Slytherin’s stiff posture. 

“Harry,” Draco whispers brokenly, bottom lip trembling. The silvery eyed boy turns toward the Gryffindor before stumbling into his arms and burying his head into Harry's exposed neck. “It happened right here. I-- I disarmed Dumbledore and I told him I had to kill him. He kept trying to talk me out of it but he wasn't afraid. I was and I... I still am. I'm still so scared, Harry,” 

“It's okay to be afraid, Draco,” Harry murmurs, carding his fingers through the blond's hair. 

“You were never afraid,” Draco replies softly, falling into Harry’s touch. 

The raven haired boy laughs softly, kissing the mercury eyed boy’s temple. “I was always afraid,” He admits. 

Draco frowns, tracing a finger over Harry's scar subconsciously before pressing his lips to the wizarding saviour’s. “I'm not afraid when I'm with you,” He stammers against Harry's mouth. 

“Good,” Harry says, tugging at Draco's blond roots. “I'll always protect you,” 

***

“Owlery, you coming?” Draco asks, raising an eyebrow at the boy who was nearly passed out boy on his bed. They had gone back to Draco's dorm after their small snogging session at the Astronomy tower and were since lounging around on his bed, continuing with their soft and gentle touches. 

Harry lifts his head from Draco’s feather fluffed pillow and shakes his head sleepily. “Tired,” He mumbles. “Be here when you get back,” 

Draco chuckles, nodding slowly and kissed Harry gently before leaving his dorm with his robes wrapped tightly around him, Harry’s Gryffindor scarf shielding his neck from the biting winter cold. The walk to the Owlery was short, considering the eighth year living quarters was nearly right above it yet the blond is shivering once he had made it there. He attaches the letter he had written his mother to the leg of a barn owl, nearly slipping in the dozens of owl droppings before nudging the animal on it’s way. 

He blows warm air to his palms in an attempt to warm them but freezes solid once he hears, “Surprised you found the courage to show your face around here, Malfoy,” 

“Honestly Blaise, we’ve been in school for months now. You’d think your petty grudge on me would’ve left by now,” Draco snaps, irritated yet subconsciously pulls at his sleeves to hide his dark mark. “I’m not sure what your problem is anyway. It’s not like being a Death Eater was ever a bad thing in a Slytherin’s eyes,” He continues, eyes flicking down to the Slytherin symbol embroidered into his robes. 

“You helped the Dark Lord nearly destroy Hogwarts and ruin the wizarding world as we know it. You sided with the enemy. I think that’s reason enough to hate you,” 

“I never wanted to! Did that ever cross your mind, Zabini? I never wanted to help him. I wasn’t given a choice! I either did as he said or he killed me and everyone I ever loved,” 

Draco’s words don’t seem to soothe his fellow Slytherin. If anything, they seem to fuel the fire in Blaise’s eyes. “You’re a coward, Draco. You could’ve left, done something different but you didn’t. You didn’t fight at all,” 

Anger bubbles deep in Draco’s core and he grabs Blaise by his robes, shoving him up against the nearest pillar of the Owlery walls. “Don’t you dare say something like that to me. You don’t know what I went though. You have no idea what it was like,” 

For a moment, Blaise’s anger is replaced with fear yet that quickly vanishes. He rips Draco’s hands from his clothes and says, “Don’t you dare ever put your hands on me again, Malfoy,” before taking out his wand and saying, “Crinus Muto,” with a smirk, leaving soon after. 

Worry buries deep in the pit of Draco’s stomach. Blaise had cast a spell on him yet he had no idea what it was. He hurries back to his dorm, hearing other students snicker when they pass him. The boy heads straight to his mirror, hoping to find out what was wrong with him, jaw falling open as soon as he takes in his reflection. His hair was now a bright bubblegum pink. “For Salazar’s sake,” He grumbles before turning toward the sleeping boy in his bed. “Harry. Harry wake up. I need your help,” Draco says, nudging Harry’s shoulder. 

“What’s wrong?” Harry mumbles tiredly after a few moments, eyes still shut tight. 

“Zabini hexed me on my way from the Owlery,” Draco mutters and watches as Harry’s eyes suddenly snap open, all sleep seeming to have drained from his body. 

“What?” He hisses, anger present in his tone. “What did he do to you? Did he hurt you?”

“Put your glasses on and then take a look at me,” Draco snorts and Harry does has he’s told, green eyes widening. 

“He turned your hair pink?” Harry laughs and the taller boy blushes a similar colour to his hair. 

“It’s not funny,” He whispers, pulling the hood of his robes up to hide his rosey locks. 

“It suits you,” Harry tells him, pulling the boy’s hood down with a grin. 

“No it doesn’t,” Draco replies. “Now, can you just... call Hermione in or something? She should know how to fix this, right?” 

“What’s in it for me?” Harry asks with a smirk, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“I’ll blow you,” Draco says, words causes a reddened blush to flood Harry’s cheeks. 

“I uh, okay-- I’ll go get Hermione,” Harry stammers, eyes wide before turning on his heels and leaving Draco’s room and the silver eyed boy is laughing since the moment he left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just thought I'd mention there's smut in the next chapter. So look out for that xx


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suck at writing smut lolol

///

“Well, I said I would blow you, didn’t I?” Draco smirks, hair having gone back to it’s regular icy blond. 

Harry’s eyes widen behind his glasses, blushing a deep red. “U-Um,” He stammers. “I-- Yeah, I guess that was the deal,” 

The taller of the two nods, grinning as he saunters over to the raven haired boy. “What do you want me to do first, pretty boy?” Draco asks as he straddles the tanner wizard, grin morphing into a egotistical smirk. 

“Kiss me,” Harry breathes, voice rugged with need. The silver eyed teen chuckles before doing as he’s told, tugging at the roots of Harry’s hair, emitting a moan from his plump lips. Draco takes the opportunity to slip his tongue into the other boy’s mouth skillfully, wanting to explore every inch of the deep brunet. 

Draco removes his hands from Harry’s dark locks, traveling down under his shirt instead, trailing careful fingertips over the other boy’s toned body. Harry had since cupped Draco’s face in his palms, touch warm and gentle which causes the blond to smile against Harry’s lips. He wanted action, however so he goes to work, grinding down on Harry’s lap, causing him to gasp at the friction. Both boys were growing hard in their clothes and Harry doesn’t object when Draco begins to tug at the hem of his shirt, slipping it over his head, fabric hitting the floor with a soft thud. 

The older boy then kisses down Harry’s bare chest, paying special attention to his nipples, causing Harry to whimper softly. “I know you can be louder than that, Potter,” Draco grins, looking up at him devilishly. He continues his journey down Harry’s chest when he doesn’t get an answer, stopping at the waistband of his jeans, taking a moment to unbutton them before pulling them down his thighs. He takes in the outline of Harry’s cock in his boxers, eager to witness it in full and is quick to rid the boy of his undergarments as well. 

“Please touch me, Draco,” Harry whines when Draco sits frozen in front of his nearly completely hardened dick and the Slytherin does as he’s asked, taking it in his hand, flicking his wrist down his length and fondling his balls with the other. Harry is moaning out curses along with the occasional mix of Draco’s name which causes him to smirk. 

When Draco removes his hands, the raven haired boy groans with confusion before his beautiful moans fill the air once again, Draco having replaced his hands for his mouth. He bobs his head at an even and steady pace, licking fat stripes down Harry’s cock and swirling his tongue around the Golden Boy’s tip. 

“I-I’m gonna cum,” Harry warns, voice rugged and spent. Draco hums over his cock in response, waves of pleasure rippling deep in Harry’s stomach at the feeling which sends him over the edge. Draco swallows once Harry had come down from his high, wiping his mouth. 

“You good?” Draco asks with a raised eyebrow and Harry nods tiredly before bending down to kiss him. 

“Come back to bed and sleep,” He insists, falling back into the mattress and shutting his eyes. Draco chuckles with amusement but doesn’t object, crawling into bed, Harry wrapping an arm around him lazily until the two fall asleep. 

///

Harry awakens from his dream soon after it finishes, cock hard. His face was hot with embarrassment; never in a thousand years would he have guessed he’d be having sex dreams about Draco Malfoy. He thinks about heading over to the boy’s dorm to have him help with his problem but when he looks up at the clock and finds it to be the early hours of the morning, he has a peaceful wank instead and if he moaned Draco’s name as he came, no one needed to know. 

***

“Why’re you acting so odd?” Draco asks in Potions with a raised eyebrow. Harry only squirms under Draco’s gaze. 

"No reason," He mutters, fiddling with his cauldron. 

"For some reason I don't believe that," Draco snorts.

"I'll tell you later," Harry replies and the blond nods, not bringing it up for the rest of the period. 

Harry couldn't even look at Draco without thinking back to the dream he had hours before. He knew he most likely wouldn't tell Draco about it even though he wouldn't mind if it came true. 

Both boys had made it through class without much trouble. Harry's potion hadn't been completely successful but Draco had helped keep it from blowing up in his face. "Merlin, you're bad at this," Draco chuckles as the two collect their things.

"You remind me of this every day," Harry groans. "Now are you going to come to my dorm tonight before dinner?" He asks. 

"If I can find time to fit you into my schedule then sure," Draco replies, smirking.

The black haired boy rolls his eyes before bidding Draco goodbye and finding his friends. The blond had found Pansy as well, the two heading back to his dorm. "So are you and Potter official yet?"

"Definitely not," Draco replies. "This is just... I'm not really sure what this is, truly," He sighs. 

"Does that bother you?" Pansy questions with a raised eyebrow as she fiddles with a spare quill Draco had left on his work desk. 

"Not really," He denies. Pansy eyes her friend uncertainly but says nothing. "He wants me to come back to his dorm before dinner," Draco continues to break the silence. 

"Are you gonna go?" 

Draco shrugs. "I guess so. I'm just afraid Weasley will walk in on us or something," He admits. 

"You can't keep whatever you two have a secret forever," Pansy tells him, frowning. 

"I know," Draco replies. "Neither of us are ready to come out about it yet. I didn't even know Potter was gay until we started snogging," 

Pansy laughs at this, slapping Draco in the arm playfully. The two talk for a while before there's a knock on Draco's door. "Who is it?" The blond asks. 

"It's Harry," The black haired boy's voice rings through the old wood. 

"Uh, come in," Draco replies and the Golden Boy walks in moments later. He eyes Pansy laying on the silver eyed boy’s bed, scowling with distaste before saying, "I came over to get some of my clothes back. Half of my wardrobe is empty," 

Draco fights back a blush at his words and Pansy snickered in amusement. The blond gets up, heading to his closet and reveals all of the articles of clothing he had stolen from Harry's room bashfully. "It's all yours," He murmurs. 

"I'm not going to take all of it back. You pull off some of my clothes better than I do anyway," 

Draco smiles softly, wrapping an arm around Harry's waist and pulling the boy toward him before pressing his lips gently to Harry's. "I'll see you later, okay?" He says once the brunet had grabbed his clothes. 

"Alright," Harry replies before turning back toward the door. Draco smacks the boy's ass playfully as he goes causing Harry to turn around, surprised. 

"Draco, quit it," He gasps and the blond chuckles, pecking Harry on the lips once more before nudging him toward the door. 

"I'll see you later, pretty boy," Draco tells him and Harry smiles, nodding as he leaves. 

"You're so whipped," Pansy points out after a few moments of silence. 

"Am not," Draco mutters, glaring in her direction. 

The pale girl laughs, shaking her head but says nothing else, simply letting it be. 

***

"Oh so you made it," Harry chuckles from his position on his bed. His hands were placed comfortably behind his head, sprawled out against the mattress and Draco smiles fondly at him. 

"Only because I wanted to hear what was up with this morning," He says with a raised eyebrow as he makes his way over to the boy. 

Harry blushes red, running a hand through his unruly hair before saying, "You have to promise not to laugh," 

"I won't," Draco reassures him and Harry nods, taking a deep breath before continuing. 

"I may or may not have had a dream you sucked me off last night," He mutters, blush trailing down his neck, not meeting the blond's gaze. 

"Oh really?" Draco questions with a raised eyebrow. Harry nods bashfully and Draco nears closer, kissing down the boy's neck. "How's about we make that a reality sometime, Potter?" He suggests huskily and Harry hums needily under his touch. "Just not right now. I've got dinner to attend," Draco smirked, pecking Harry's lips once more before leaving the room.


	11. Chapter 11

Draco gets a frantic letter from his mother on a chilly Saturday afternoon. The blond had smiled at the look of the crisp parchment when he had first recognized his mother's handwriting but quickly frowns as he begins reading. 

Draco, 

I'm sorry to be bothering you, sweetheart but I need you to come home as soon as possible. I read in the Prophet this morning that your father is to be released from Azkaban Tuesday afternoon. According to the article, a source who wishes to remain anonymous to the public fought to shorten your father's sentence. The hearing had been going on for months under the Prophet's nose and is finally publicized. 

I haven't a clue who or how they did it but I need you home quickly until things are sorted out. Surely you'll be able to finish your final year at Hogwarts, I simply need you here for the time being. 

I'll see you soon my little dragon. 

Love, 

Mum

Draco scans the letter over repeatedly, eyes wide. He couldn't believe this. His father had a life sentence in Azkaban and he hadn't spent more than a year there. Draco is shaking with anger. This shouldn’t be happening. Frankly it just wasn’t fair. 

The aging teen leaves his dorm, heading to the Quidditch pitch and sits in the centre of the field, pulling out chilled blades of grass. His mind was racing. This couldn't be happening. Who knows what his father would do once he was released.

This whole situation left a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. Both he and his mother knew nothing good would come from this. 

Draco doesn't go to breakfast and he struggles to get himself to class on time. When Pansy asks him why he wasn't at the Great Hall this morning, the blond simply gives her a lame excuse. "I was with Potter," He says, an obvious lie but Pansy takes it without question. 

His final class with Harry is the smallest bit more bearable since the potion was not only easy but it was partner oriented. Draco makes Harry do the majority of the work, only stepping in when Potter made mistakes which caused the black haired boy to groan. "Why do I have to do all the work?" He wonders and Draco chuckles at his words. 

"It's the only way you'll learn. I'd tell you to just watch me but from past experience I know that all you have a tendency of doing is stare at my ass while I do everything," Harry flushes red yet doesn't deny it, only stares into the brewing cauldron. "Now c'mon, you're almost done. If you finish it correctly I'll reward you," 

Harry snorts in amusement but is clearly tempted at the idea. "Fine," He says, sounding more determined than he had all term. "But I get to pick the prize," He insists and Draco nods after a beat of silence. 

By the time class ends, Draco finds their potion to be perfect and pristine, Potter smiling triumphantly in the blond’s direction. "I'll meet you at your dorm before dinner for whatever you decide," Draco promises and Harry nods. 

The two wait for the classroom to empty before kissing quickly. Harry squeezes Draco's hand gently before leaving the room, the Slytherin following a few moments after. He doesn't find Pansy waiting for him as she usually would which causes his eyebrows to furrow yet he shakes it off, heading to his room instead. 

Draco lays on his bed, sighing as the tension leaves his aching muscles and stares up at the ceiling, content. 

Harry however wasn't nearly as relaxed. He had been pulled aside by Pansy when he had left Potions, the girl having been waiting outside the classroom and when Harry asks what she needed, the brown eyed girl says, "Draco lied to me this morning. He told me he was with you at breakfast when he hadn't shown up but I know that's not true since I saw you egging Weasley on this morning to see how many strips of bacon he could fit into his mouth at once," 

Harry chuckles at the memory before shaking his head and saying, "What's the big deal? People lie all the time," 

"You don't get it, Potter," Pansy hisses, stress dripping from her harsh tone. "Draco only lies when something is wrong. Who knows what's going on with him," 

Harry frowns, running a hand through his messy hair before saying, "He's coming to my dorm before dinner. I'll ask him what's up but I'm sure it's nothing," He reassures her. 

Pansy nods uncertainly before bidding Harry goodbye. A few hours pass before Draco turns up at the Gryffindor's dorm but when he does, Harry is ecstatic. "Missed you," He says which causes Draco to chuckle and roll his eyes. 

"You just saw me a few hours ago you git," Draco says but kisses the boy nonetheless. 

The two simply bask in each other’s presence for what feels like hours before Harry says, "So about my reward..." Draco raises an eyebrow at the boy, willing him to continue. "I was thinking that I'd be able to charm your hair silver," 

Draco's eyes which had once held curiosity widen with surprise. "Silver? Why silver?" He asks. 

"To match your eyes," Harry says as if it were obvious. "I liked your hair pink but I figured silver would be more acceptable." 

"How considerate of you," Draco replies flatly. He then sighs, running a hand through his momentarily natural blond locks before saying, "Fine, do it,"

Harry is grinning from ear to ear once Draco allowed this and points his wand to the crown of the boy's head before casting the spell. Draco's eyes had been closed in anticipation but when he opens them, they're now a matching shade to his hair. "Beautiful," The deep brunet comments and Draco rolls his eyes. 

"Doubtful," He grumbles and Harry chuckles, pecking Draco's lips quickly. 

"Are you okay, Draco?" Harry asks softly after a few moments and the silver haired boy eyes him grumpily before saying, "Of course not. I have silver hair,"

Harry fights off a smile and sobers up. "Pansy told me she's worried about you. Said you lied to her this morning and you only do that when something's wrong," 

Draco sighs, running a hand over this face. "It's nothing," He mutters. 

"We both know that's not true," 

The silver eyed boy looks over at the brunet sadly, frowning as he says, "Apparently my father is getting released from Azkaban on Tuesday and my mum wants me home," 

Harry’s eyes visibly widen. "What? How does that even happen? He had a life sentence, didn't he?" 

Draco nods grimly. "According to the Prophet someone spoke up to his expense to shorten his sentence," 

Harry runs a hand through his hair, nearly as stressed as the taller boy. "You don't have to deal with him. We'll figure something out. You can stay elsewhere. Somewhere he can't find you. Or--"

"Where, Harry?" Draco snaps, irritated. "There's nowhere for us to go. The Manor is all that we have. My mum is on house arrest. She's not allowed to do anything so it's my job to keep her safe," 

"I don't want him hurting you again," Harry whispers, resting a hand over Draco's. 

"I'll be fine," The Slytherin hisses. "Now, I have to get going," He continues. "I'll see you at dinner," He mutters before leaving Harry's room and heading to his own. 

*** 

Draco has nearly all his clothes packed by the time dinner begins. As he's picking at his food he debates on telling Pansy he would be leaving afterward and after a moment's thought, he does. "What do you //mean// you're leaving?" His friend asks, voice sharp. 

"I mean my mother needs me so I'm leaving. Surely I'll be back and I'll write you as frequently as I can but... I just have to go, Pans. I have to keep her safe," 

The deep brunette frowns, looking down at her food, swallowing thickly before saying, "Just remember to keep yourself safe too," voice quiet as she rests a hand over Draco's. 

"I will," He murmurs before pushing his plate away and standing up. "I've got a bit more to pack and then I've got to go," The silver eyed boy insists. "I'll be sure to visit you," He promises and Pansy nods once again before the boy disappears. 

Draco arrives at Harry's dorm nearly an hour later to find the boy laying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. "Hey pretty boy," Draco whispers, green eyes quickly meeting mercury. 

"Hey," Harry smiles. 

"I need your help," Draco admits and Harry nods, waiting for him to continue. "I need to borrow your invisibility cloak to sneak out of Hogwarts without being seen," 

Harry sits up in bed before shuffling over to his trunk and pulling out the familiar fabric. "You're leaving now?" He asks, nearing closer to the boy. 

"I've got to say goodbye to Pansy first but yes," The two walk down to the girl's dorm and Draco enters without knocking. He finds the girl sitting on her bed with a book in her hand which makes Draco's eyebrows furrow. He had barely ever seen that girl read. "What're you reading?" He asks her, causing her to look up from the passage. 

"A book on ways to mend curse injuries. I was hoping to find something to help with your hands," She says, smiling softly and Draco returns the same gesture. 

"Thanks, Pans. I'm going to get going now but I wanted to stop by before I left,” 

His fellow Slytherin smiles softly and she pulls him into a hug. “Tell me what your mum thinks of your hair. I rather like it,” She says once the two pull apart. 

Draco nods slowly, wishing his friend goodbye once more before he and Harry leave. The deep brunet drapes his cloak over the two, concealing them and make their way out of the castle. Once they make their way beyond the walls, Draco pulls out his wand, kissing Harry gently before apparating back to the Manor, knowing if the boy was to beg him to stay he would surely do it. 

He opens the front door, the chilled handle oddly foreign yet walks through the doorway nonetheless, trunk following behind him. “Mum?” He calls, walking past the living room and family library before finding her standing in front of the staircase, fatigue and worry plaguing her features. 

“Draco,” She murmurs, looking relieved to see her son before pulling him in for a hug. Draco wraps his arms around her tightly, the two of them basking in the safety of each other’s embrace but knew the feeling wouldn’t last for long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't really enjoy this chapter but it's needed for plot.


	12. Chapter 12

Narcissa wouldn’t stop fussing over Draco’s hair. It wasn’t that she didn’t like it; she was rather fond of it, thus wouldn’t stop speaking it up. 

"Who convinced you to do that, Dray? I know you would never do that on your own," 

Narcissa is smiling softly, waiting patiently when her boy hesitates. "I lost a bet with a friend," 

"It wasn't Pansy, was it? Surely she would've thought of something more creative,"

"No, it was um-- It was Harry. Harry Potter," Draco replies sheepishly, looking down at the floor. "We became friends this year. Maybe uh, more than friends," He blushes.

"Exactly how cosy have you and Harry gotten?" Narcissa asks with a curiously raised eyebrow. 

"We kiss sometimes. Or... a lot of the time," The silver eyed boy mutters but when he finally looks up at his mother, he finds her smiling wide. "You're not mad?" He asks with surprise and watches Mrs. Malfoy shake her head. 

"Potter’s a good boy and if you're happy, I'm happy," 

Draco smiles, grateful for his mother's reaction and says, "He does make me very happy," fighting off a blush. 

"I'm glad, my little dragon," Narcissa murmurs, patting her son's hand gently. 

Draco sits beside his mother on the couch, the older woman resting her head on Draco’s shoulder. Once the boy notices her sudden anxiousness, he says, “Everything will be okay, mum.” His voice is soft yet holds promise. Narcissa simply nods and her silence only solidifies the fact that she didn’t believe him.

***

“What’s got you so down?” Hermione asks Harry the morning after Draco had left. 

“It’s nothing,” Harry tells her glumly before eyeing the Slytherin table where Draco’s usual seat beside Pansy was empty. 

“Is it about Draco?” She whispers after making sure Ron wasn’t paying attention. 

“Yes,” Harry mutters. 

Hermione nods with a frown, picking at her breakfast. “Have you tried writing him?” She asks and watches as Harry shakes his head. He doesn’t bother elaborating; missing Draco seemed to drain him both physically and emotionally. Harry wasn’t exactly sure when Draco took over his thoughts and emotions. Probably when he saw the silver eyed boy in his Gryffindor hoodie because Harry couldn’t help but find him incredibly attractive. That boy was his and no one else's. Although they weren’t official, Harry knew Draco wasn’t seeing anyone else. That boy had enough on his plate.

Harry get through his classes on autopilot. When he gets back to his dorm, he finds a black owl pecking at his window. The brunet opens it and the animal hobbles inside, the shorter boy taking the sturdy parchment from the owl. He grabs a treat for the bird before it flies off and the late teenager unfolds the paper, smiling softly as soon as he recognizes Draco’s broken cursive. 

Harry, 

It’s nice being home to see my mother. I hate that it’s for this circumstance but I’m happy to see her. I never realized how much she needed me until I came walking through the door, She had been so different when I had come home for winter break yet it’s understandable considering back then my father wasn’t about to be released from the only place my mother knew he wasn’t supposed to leave. 

I’m not sure who talked my father into a shorter sentence but once I find out, I’m going to hunt them down and show them the pain my mother and I will be feeling once my father returns because I know it won’t be pretty. 

I’m just trying to focus on the present for now. I only have a few days until my father arrives and am trying to make the best of them. 

I’ll talk to you soon, Scarhead. Don’t get too lonely without me and don’t you dare go kissing anyone else. I won’t be having that. I know it’s hard for you but try your best to stay out of trouble. 

-DM 

Harry smiles at the idiotic nickname Draco had used in his letter; that being one that the taller boy had used for years but frowns at the rest of the parchment. Draco’s father was coming back and there was nothing he or anyone else could do. The thought pains him. Harry knew Lucius would hurt Draco and that made the brunet want to ruin him. 

He runs a hand through his hair, sighing as he flops down on his bed, holding the letter in the other. Harry runs a finger over the boy’s possessive words. Don’t you dare go kissing anyone else. I won’t be having that. Just reading the words over left an excited chill run down Harry’s spine. He never knew that Draco could be so dominating. What would happen if Harry got Draco jealous one day? 

The green eyed boy might just have to test that out but for now, he shuts his eyes and falls asleep, clutching the boy’s letter to his chest. 

***

“Merlin I’m worried about him,” It was Wednesday and Draco still hadn’t returned to Hogwarts. Harry was currently sitting in the library with Hermione, the curly haired girl poured over a book while Harry simply bent the pages of the one in front of him.

“I know you are,” Hermione replies. “He’ll be fine,” She promises but her words don’t consol Harry much. She had no idea what Draco was going through; why he had left and what his father had done to him. 

Harry thinks back to the letter Draco had written him the day after he had left. He kept the parchment in a drawer by his nightstand and reads it over whenever he missed the boy terribly. Although he and Draco weren’t officially a couple, Harry couldn’t imagine himself with anyone other than the silver haired boy.He wasn’t sure what had changed since the beginning of this year. Maybe it was the war that morphed the taller boy into a completely different person. 

Draco was such a handsome man and Harry felt unbelievably lucky to be able to kiss and hold him. He wished he could take away all of Draco’s pain. The late teen didn’t deserve all of this. 

Apart from the letter he had gotten on Sunday, Draco’s owl had otherwise been dormant and that worried the green eyed boy. He was afraid Lucius was hurting the lanky Malfoy. He knew Draco would do anything to keep his mother out of trouble and would take the hits to keep his mother void of violet bruises. Draco was such a good person and he wished others would be able to see it. 

Although he and Draco weren’t dating, he wanted to be able to kiss and cuddle the boy out in the common room or Great Hall without having to keep things hidden and not have to resort to just lonesome stares across the room. Harry was never good at keeping secrets; he always ended up telling his friends what he had bottled up so he was surprised he kept all of this from Ron. A part of him knew it would do more harm than good. Ron hated Draco and had no intention on keeping it quiet so Harry wasn’t sure if he should tell the redhead even though he couldn’t keep it from him forever. 

“C’mon, Harry, let's get out of here. This obviously isn’t doing much to distract you,” Hermione says. 

Harry sighs, nodding and shuts his book firmly, the two putting them away before leaving the library. “Where are we going?” Harry asks as they leave the school building. Hermione doesn’t reply until they get to their destination. “The Black Lake?” Harry questioned, crossing his arms over his chest in an attempt to keep in body heat. 

Hermione casts a warming charm onto the two of them to fight off the cold which physically relaxes Harry. “I figured we could skip rocks and talk things over,” She says. 

“I don’t know how to skip rocks,” Harry admits sheepishly. 

“I’ll teach you,” 

Harry nods slowly and stands beside Hermione. She melts a few layers of ice off the lake and grabs a smooth rock off the ground beneath them. She then tugs on Harry’s wrist, nearing them both closer to the water and patiently teaches the black haired boy. It doesn’t take long for him to learn and soon, Harry doesn’t even have to look as he does it.

After a while of skipping rocks, Harry sits down with his knees pulled to his chest, mulling over all that had been happening these past few weeks. “Are you okay, Harry?” Hermione asks and Harry forces a nod. 

“You think he’ll be okay?” He whispers and Hermione wraps an arm around her friend, sighing. 

“For your sake, I hope so,” 

***

There’s a knock on Harry’s door three days later. “Er, come in,” Harry says, looking up from his textbook. The door creaks open moments later and Harry’s eyes widen behind his glasses as soon as he sees who was there. “Draco?” He asks, instantly getting up and pulling the boy in for a hug. Draco winces, causing Harry to frown and pulls the silver haired boy over to his bed. “What happened?” He asks quickly. 

Draco sighs, taking his wand out and mumbling a quick spell under his breath before looking up at Harry. Bruises bloom under Draco’s skin as moments pass by and the taller of the two runs a hand through his hair before saying, “Things at home were a bit rough,” His voice is just above a whisper, visibly drained.

“What happened, Draco?” Harry asks. 

“I had to keep my mother safe,” Draco murmurs. 

Harry frowns before saying, “C’mon, lets take you to Madam Pomphrey to fix you up,” He wraps his arm around Draco’s waist, getting him up from his mattress before the two walk down to the infirmary. When Madam Pomphrey spots the two of them, Draco nearly completely limp in Harry’s grasp, her eyes widen and she ushers them over to the nearest hospital bed. 

“What happened to him?” She asks. 

“I... I dunno. His father was released from Azkaban on Tuesday and Draco left to protect his mum so I’m guessing his father beat him,” Harry whispers, not wanting to believe the words that left his mouth.

The nurse nods, looking troubled before going to Draco’s aid. “I’m going to need you to step out, Harry,” She says and Harry frowns but does as she says. He waits outside of the infirmary for a while before eventually giving up and heading to Pansy’s dorm. It was doubtful that she knew what was going on or else she would’ve taken him to get fixed up.

Harry knocks on Pansy’s door hesitantly and the girl opens it a few moments later. "What're you doing here, Pott--" 

"Draco's back," He interrupts her quickly, watching as her eyes widen. 

"What happened? Where is he?" She asks, worry leaking prominently in her tone. 

"He's in the infirmary. He was pretty banged up when he got to my dorm," Harry frowns as he runs a hand through his jet black hair. 

"Merlin," Pansy mutters, looking distressed. "Can we see him? I have to see him, Harry," 

This was the first time Harry had ever heard the brunette speak anything but his surname yet shakes off his shock as he nods, pulling the girl along. "Pomfrey ordered me out when I dropped Draco off but we can sit in the hall until we're allowed back in," Harry suggests as they leave the living quarters and head to the infirmary. 

The two of them are stopped by Ron and Hermione halfway there and the redhead asks, "What're you doing with Parkinson, mate?" eyebrows furrowed. 

"It doesn't matter. We've got someplace to be so I really need you to move," 

"But--" Ron starts but Pansy quickly cuts him off. 

"Move it, weasel. We don't have all bloody day," She snaps. 

Ron rolls his eyes before giving Harry another confused look but goes on his way. Hermione had stayed rooted to the spot, however, holding an expression Harry couldn't quite read. "I'll tell you later," He promises before the two scurry off to the infirmary, leaving the confused girl in the middle off the hall. 

"For the love of Salazar that boy is so bloody thick," Pansy snaps, a few paces from the infirmary entrance. 

"Don't make me regret bringing you down here, Pansy. Talk down on my friends again and I might not be so kind," Harry replies harshly, causing the brown eyed girl to frown before sighing and taking a seat on the floor, arms crossed over her chest. Pansy seemed to be even more anxious than Harry as the two sat and waited outside of the infirmary. She taps her wand on her thighs like a drum at a quickened tempo. After a few moments of this, Harry hands over his own wand and Pansy gives him an odd look before taking it and continuing. Harry offers a gentle smile, the tapping a distraction from his peaking anxiety. 

The green eyed boy doesn’t notice when the tapping stops but is pulled from his deepening worry when Pansy says, “Things’ll be okay,” 

“You didn’t see him. He was so...” Harry trails off, biting his lip harshly as he blinks away tears. 

Madam Pomphrey appears before his tears could fall and upon seeing the duo, she says, “Come on in you two. Draco’s awake now,” 

Harry and Pansy quickly enter, eyeing the lanky boy in the otherwise empty room. “I’m getting pretty sick of seeing you in a hospital bed, Dray,” The girl says, sitting in the closest seat beside the silver haired boy. 

Draco laughs softly, wincing afterward and Harry frowns, instantly taking his hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. “I’m sick of being here, Pans. These mattresses aren’t the most comfortable,” 

Harry can’t help but smile, bringing Draco’s hand up to his lips and kisses from the top of his palm to each individual finger. When he looks up at Draco, he finds the boy eyeing him fondly. “I was so worried about you,” Harry whispers. 

Draco kisses Harry softly as if to reassure him that everything was fine and whispers, “Thank you,” against his lips before finally pulling away. 

“What happened back home, Draco?” Pansy asks after a beat of silence.

“I wouldn’t let him hurt her. I never let him hurt my mum. But one day... One day he tried using an Unforgivable on me and my mum took my wand from my room and stunned him. She’s not allowed to use magic since she’s on house arrest,” He explains, clearing his throat before continuing. “Some Aurors came and took her and my father in. I tried telling them she was only protecting me but they just wouldn’t listen,” Draco’s voice had visibly softened by the time he finishes. “What am I supposed to do now, Harry?” 

“You’re going to get well,” Harry begins. “Then the three of us will get out of here and I’ll talk for your mum at her trial since she’ll surely have one. Once she gets released, I know a place she can stay without Lucius finding her,” 

Draco’s eyes brighten with relief at Harry’s words. “Thank you,” He says, pecking the dark haired boy on the lips.

“You should get some sleep,” Harry says after noticing the empty potion vials by his bed. 

“Lay with me,” Draco begs and after a moment, the shorter boy nods, curling up in the small mattress.

“I’ll talk with you later, Draco. Yeah?” Pansy says awkwardly eyeing the two boys. 

“Of course,” Draco says with drooping eyes. “Love you, Pans,” He murmurs.

Pansy chuckles, giving Draco’s hand a final squeeze. “Love you too,” She says before finally leaving the two alone. 

Harry simply runs his fingers through Draco’s charmed hair, not wanting to acknowledge the prominent bruises on the pale boy’s face. “You’re really going to talk for my mum?” Draco whispers. 

“Of course,” Harry replies. “Now get some rest. You need it,” 

Draco nods slowly, shutting his eyes and cuddling into Harry’s chest before eventually falling asleep. Harry holds him close, glad the boy was finally safe in his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There were a lot of time skips in this chapter yikes. I hope you enjoyed nonetheless xx


	13. Chapter 13

Draco didn’t know it, but Harry had slipped sleep aids into his tea as the two cuddled in his hospital bed. “I dunno why I’m so tired,” The silver eyed boy yawns. 

“Your body needs rest,” Harry tells him, running a hand through the boy’s hair.

“Hmm, maybe,” Draco mumbled into the raven haired boy’s collarbone, causing Harry to smile softly.

“Sleep, darling,” Harry replies softly. Draco was surprised at the pet name that ran past his lips and is blushing slightly but does as the shorter boy asks, succumbed by sleep moments later.

After a few moments, Harry looks over at Pansy who was sitting in one of the hospital beds, looking drowsy. “I’ve got to get going,” He says and the brown haired girl opens one eye, mumbling, “Where are you going? Draco won’t be happy if he wakes without you here,”

“I’ve got to talk his mum out of whatever sentence she’s getting,” Harry says, straightening out his clothes. “I put a sleeping potion in his tea so he won’t wake up and find me gone,” 

Pansy looks totally awake at this point, eyes wide with curiosity. “He won’t be pleased with you. He’s always hated not having the upperhand,” 

“He’ll forgive me once I tell him his mum is out of Azkaban,” Harry replies before bidding the girl goodbye. 

“Merlin, that boy has guts,” Pansy mutters as she watches him go before grabbing Draco’s limp hand and giving it a light squeeze. 

***

Draco awakes to a cold bed. “Harry?” He whispers, peeling his eyes open to find the room empty apart from Pansy sitting stretched in a chair. “Where’s Harry?” Pansy sits in silence for a moment, causing the boy to squirm with unease. "Where is he?" Draco asks again, palming the bed sheets as if that would somehow summon the black haired boy. 

"He... left," Pansy says vaguely which causes Draco to frown. 

"Left where?" The silver eyed boy sighs, exasperated. 

"To the Ministry," Pansy mutters. 

"What?" Draco hisses, disbelieving. "For Merlin's sake, that git... Why would he do that?" 

"To speak for your mum," 

Draco's face branches of colour, unable to comprehend her statement. "How does he expect to do anything? He wasn't there. He wasn't a witness. If anyone should be there it should be me because I--" 

"They're not going to listen to you. You're a Death Eater, Draco," Pansy hisses. 

"Was. I was a Death Eater. Not anymore," Draco snaps. 

Pansy’s face softens at his words, noticing her misstep. "Right. I... Yeah, right," She mutters. 

Draco sighs, running a hand through his charmed hair. "I'm going to murder that prat when he gets back," He mutters.

"Murder him or punish him?" Pansy winks. 

Draco flushes red from his hospital bed and glares at the girl beside him. "Sod off," He stammers and fights the urge to hide his face in his hands. 

Harry returns a few hours later looking exhausted and when he does, Draco shoots him a glare. "Harry fucking Potter," Draco hisses. "What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" 

The raven haired boy is shocked at Draco's tone but shakes it off as he runs a hand over his face. "Saving your mum from six months in Azkaban," He replies, collapsing in the nearest chair and propping his feet on the edge of the battered boy's bed. 

"Six months?" Draco asks, anger slowly fading. 

"I got her out of it and found her a place to stay where Lucius won't find her," Harry promises. 

"And my father? Did he get charged with anything?" Draco questions, subconsciously pressing on the bruises painting his skin. 

"Three months house arrest and a hefty fine," Harry sighs. 

Draco doesn't seem necessarily pleased with the sentence but sits up to kiss Harry gently. "Thank you, darling," He murmurs. 

The pet name surprises Harry but he takes it greatly. "N-No problem," He stammers, blushing and clearly flustered. When Draco asks for Harry to lay in bed with him, the green eyed boy quickly complies, crawling under the covers with the silver haired boy and cards his fingers through it, smiling fondly. He then wraps an arm around Draco's waist, pulling him closer and melts when the taller boy nestles into the hollow of his neck, quickly drifting off to sleep. 

Harry kisses the boy's forehead and rubs his thumb over the top of Draco's palm which causes the boy to stir slightly. "Thank you," He whispers again and Harry chuckles, running his fingers through Draco's hair again until the boy falls asleep. 

"You really care for him," Pansy points out.

“Of course I do,” Harry shrugs, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. 

“How’d you get Narcissa out of Azkaban?” She asks. 

“I’m the wizarding saviour, I get whatever I want when I demand it,” Pansy gives him a pointed look and the dark haired boy continues. “Okay, maybe I bailed her out,” 

“That must’ve cost a fortune,” The late teen whispers with wide eyes and watches as Harry shrugs again. 

“Draco and his happiness is priceless and I knew this would mean everything to him so I was willing to do whatever it took,” Harry replies earnestly. 

Pansy smiles fondly at the boy, nodding gratefully. “You’re good for him, you know?” 

Harry blushes red but nods, knowing she meant what she had said. “I try my best to be,” 

“Well, you’re doing a bloody good job,” Pansy grins and Harry finds himself smiling back, pleased at her words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short little chapter. Sorry! x


	14. Chapter 14

“Where were you yesterday?” Hermione asks the next morning at breakfast. 

“Yeah, mate. We didn’t see you all night,” Ron says through a mouthful of food. 

Harry shrugs his shoulders, poking at his own meal and avoiding their gazes. “I was studying for Potions at the library,” He lies quickly. “There's only so much Malfoy can teach me,” Using Draco's last name to address him was such a foreign act and felt odd in Harry's mouth but Ron doesn't seem to notice. 

“Malfoy has been teaching you?” Ron scoffs, disbelieving. “He's such a prat. Why would you accept help from him?” 

“He's not a prat,” Harry hisses, quickly growing irritated. “And he's not a git anymore, alright? He's sweet and caring and kind. Not like you'd know since all you do is ridicule him. Merlin, Ron. Since when did you become so cruel? Calling him rancid names, making fun of his weight loss and cursing his family name. It's like I don't even recognize you anymore. What happened to the Ron Weasley I once knew?”

The redhead suddenly goes stiff, surprised at Harry’s words. “You’re siding with him?” He asks, shocked and Harry nods, sighing and running a hand through his hair. “Hermione...” Ron whispers, eyes begging in hopes that she would be on his side. 

“As far as I know, he’s changed, Ron.” The brown haired witch says. “I know you’ve seen it in him. How he doesn’t retaliate whenever you say crude things,” 

Ron ponders this over, not wanting to believe his ears but eventually nods. “I... I guess you’re right. I have been a bit of a bloke to him, haven’t I?” 

Harry bites back snide comments and finishes off his food quickly. “I’ve to be off, need to tidy my room a bit. It’s looking horrid,” He says, brushing off his clothes as he gets up.

Hermione doesn’t say a word, already having a hunch as to what he was up to and as Harry turns his back to them, he hears Ron ask, “Since when did Harry ever clean his room?” 

***

“So let me get this straight,” Draco mutters from above his quill, eyebrows furrowing as he scribbles onto a piece of parchment. “My mum is staying at some hidden house Sirius passed down to you?” 

“Precisely,” Harry replies from Draco’s bed, hands behind his head. “Care to skip with me today?” He asks nonchalantly as he stared up at the ceiling. 

“Is skipping your way of asking me on a date, Potter?” Draco asks with a chuckle, watching as Harry goes bright red.

“Er, I--” Harry stammers, finally locking eyes with Draco who sat at his desk chair, smirking. 

“Oh Merlin, did I finally render the Golden Boy speechless?” The silver eyed boy teases, abandoning his parchment as he stands, walking over to the tongue tied wizard instead. “I thought I was only able to do what when I did things like this,” He murmurs, kissing Harry hard on the lips. “And even then I can’t shut you up,” He says, voice nearing a growl when he applies pressure and friction to Harry’s confined cock, causing the boy to moan softly. 

“Draco--” Harry begins but is cut short at a knock on his door. 

Both boys’ eyes widen and Draco jumps from his placement on Harry’s lap, grabbing his Potions textbook off of his desk and pushing another smirk off his face when he sees the smaller boy grab his pillow, placing it between his legs to hide his semi. “No, Potter. You have to add the Wormwood after you add in the dragon scales or else your potion will explode in your bloody face,” Draco scolds fakely, flipping to a random page in his textbook. 

“Come in,” Harry says moments later, fighting off a grin at the silver haired boy. 

Ron enters Harry’s dorm seconds later, looking slightly uncomfortable when he sees Draco and Harry sat together, too close for the Weasley’s comfort. “I er, I just wanted to apologize for this morning at breakfast. Pansy told me I’d find you here and uh-- Yeah, I wanted to apologize,” 

Harry nods stiffly, still holding the pillow tight across his lower abdomen and squeaks out, “It’s no problem,” with a blush. 

“You alright, Harry? Did Malfoy do anything to you?” He asks, shooting a glare at the young Malfoy. 

Draco scoffs, rolling his eyes. “I didn’t do anything to him, Weasley so don’t get your knickers in a twist,” He snaps, irritated. “Now, I’d appreciate it if you left us be. We’ve got a big Potions test last period and Potter is in no way prepared,” Draco continues.

Ron sighs and turns on his heel after giving Harry a helpless look. Once the door was shut, a moment of silence passes between the two boys before the black haired boy asks, “Is there really a Potions test today?” 

Draco chuckles, the slightest snort within the action as he shakes his head. “No, you dolt,” He grins and Harry finds himself smiling along with him, glad his stupidity had managed to cause the boy joy. “Now, would you mind accompanying me to the owlery?” Draco asks once his giggles had subsided. 

“Of course,” Harry says, shifting awkwardly in Draco’s bed before getting up. He watches the boy expertly fold his parchment and put it into an envelope. The two walk down to the owlery briskly. It was still early in the morning and the chances of the two of them being caught together were slim; most students would be finishing up breakfast or heading to class. “That’s to your mum?” Harry asks, eyes flicking down to the parchment in Draco’s long fingers.

“Yeah, I wanted to see how she’s doing,” 

Harry had gotten Narcissa out of her sentence yesterday and Draco had just been released from the infirmary this following morning. The boy was happy not only to be healed but to finally be able to stretch his lanky legs. The shorter boy was relieved to know that Draco was getting better. Although his hands shook, it was only occasional and both boys were pleased by that. 

“So I was thinking I could show you something after this,” 

Draco raises an eyebrow at this. “And what exactly would that be?” He questions Harry after tying his letter to a barn owl’s leg, watching it fly off. 

“The Room of Requirement,” Harry says. “I haven’t taken anyone there since the war,” His voice comes out quiet as the final words pass his lips and Draco squeezes his hand gently, willing the frown from his face. 

When Draco locks eyes with Harry, he cups his face between his thin fingers. “I’m honoured and looking forward to it,” Draco says, kissing Harry’s chapped lips quickly. 

They walk back into the warmth of the castle and Harry directs them where they needed to go. Draco tries to memorize the twists and turns but there were simply too god damn many. He lets off the smallest frustrated huff but smiles softly when Harry takes his hand again. “Here we are,” Harry says, smiling considerably wider than Draco. “I think all the other students forgot about it,”

Draco hums quietly before his hands travel to Harry’s sides, pulling him closer. He then plasters his lips to the wizard’s, biting softly on his bottom lip, causing Harry to gasp. Draco chuckles cockily and Harry pulls away for a moment, smirking before he pushes Draco down on a bed. “When did that get there?” The silver eyed boy asks breathlessly. 

“This room gives you whatever you wish for,” Harry mutters before climbing on top of the boy. “And I might’ve just wished for a bed,” His voice is husky and causes a shiver to run down Draco’s spine. He shakes it off and pulls Harry down by his tie, kissing him once again. 

“Clever, Potter,” He murmurs against his mouth.

Harry doesn’t reply, only threads his fingers through Draco’s hair. The charm was beginning to fade; a few blond streaks interrupting the shimmery silver yet Harry adored that even more. Draco begins unbuttoning Harry’s shirt and gets halfway down his chest when a light gasp freezes him to the spot. 

“Oh, hello Harry. Hello Draco,” 

Draco’s eyes widen at the icy blond standing a respectable distance from them, holding a plethora of books in dainty hands. “Luna? What’re you doing here?” 

“From the look of things, I should be asking you the same thing,” The small girl replies, taking in his disheveled hair. 

Draco had taken it upon himself to hide Harry’s half naked body from the girl although he knew she meant no harm to either of them. “Please don’t tell anyone, Luna,” He pleads and the small girl just smiles, shaking her head. 

“Oh Draco, don’t be silly. I wouldn’t do such a thing. The two of you are keeping this a secret for a reason though I have no idea why,” 

“Everyone would have a fit,” Harry says after finally rebuttoning his shirt. 

“Well I see no harm in that. As long as you’re both happy, that’s all that should matter,” Luna shrugs, fiddling with her books. 

Draco manages to catch a glimpse of one of the titles and sees it had to do with magical creatures. This doesn’t surprise Draco and he finally meets her gaze again before saying, “Thanks, Luna.” to which she only nods, turning on her heel and walking away. 

Draco hears Harry let off a sigh of relief and only then does he notice he’s holding his breath as well. “Merlin,” He mutters. 

“Yeah, Merlin,” Harry echoes before kissing Draco once more and falling back down onto the bed, seemingly unbothered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short little chapter part 2. Sorry guys. The next chapters is one of my favorites though so I hope you'll all enjoy it as well once it's out! Much love x


	15. Chapter 15

“Luna,” Draco whispers, poking his head into the Common Room where he found the small girl eyeing the bright fireplace. 

The icy blonde girl looks back at him, smiling although her features were drugged with wonder. “Yes, Draco?” 

With a sigh, the boy sits beside her on the couch, staring down at his feet as he says, “You’ve known Harry for a while now, right?” He catches the girl nod out of the corner of his eye and he runs a hand through his hair before saying, “What do you think would be the proper way to ask him out? Some way he won’t find terribly cliche,” 

Draco finally takes the time to look over at Luna only to find her smiling even brighter than before. “I have just the idea,” She says and Draco nods, nearing closer to her as she lays out the plan. 

***

“I can’t do this,” Draco mutters, fiddling with his shirt. It was Harry’s but the tall boy basically claimed it as his own. It was one of his thick sweaters; a fuzzy blue that Draco curled up in.

“Yes you can,” Luna presses. “Surely you’ve done harder things than this, Draco,” 

Draco swallows thickly, nodding as he shook himself. “Okay. I... I can do this. You’re-- You’re right.” His words ring true but he can’t seem to consol even himself. “I’m going to get Harry now,” He mutters, wiping sweaty palms on his jeans. 

Luna shoots him a reassuring smile and nods, watching as the boy walks away from her and toward Harry’s dorm. Draco doesn’t hear any voices coming from the other side of the boy’s door so he knocks lightly before opening it seconds later. “Hey, Draco,” Harry smiles from his bed. 

“So, seeing as you never took me out on that date yesterday, I put it upon myself to set one up,” Draco mutters, watching as Harry’s eyebrows skyrocket in surprise. 

“Really?” He asks and the blond nods bashfully. 

“Yes, now c’mon, I don’t have all night,” He mutters, grabbing onto Harry’s wrist and pulling him out of the bed. Harry follows him out of the Common Room and down a long corridor out to the Quidditch pitch. 

“What’re we doing here?” Harry asks with furrowed eyebrows. 

“I... I wanted to ask you a question but I wanted to do it in the place you’re happiest,” Draco murmurs, not meeting Harry’s gaze. “I was wondering if maybe, you ya know, wanted to um, be my boyfriend,” His words come out quiet and for a moment he fears Harry hadn’t heard him. “Harry...” He whispers, suddenly growing more nervous yet shock runs through his veins when he feels Harry’s lips against his own. 

“Yes,” Harry murmurs against his mouth. “A thousand times bloody yes,” 

Draco smiles softly, playing with the tuffs of hair at the base of Harry’s neck as he continues to kiss him, the two standing in the middle of the Quidditch field without a care in the world. “Thank you,” His words are almost a sigh when he pulls away from the shorter boy, lips red and slightly swollen. 

“What’re you thanking me for?” Harry asks with slightly furrowed eyebrows. 

“For giving me a second chance,” Draco replies.

Harry chuckles, kissing Draco’s forehead lightly. “There’s no need to thank me,” He says, running an arm around the blond’s waist. 

“Do you want to go back to my room now?” Draco asks, leaning into Harry’s touch. 

Harry hums against Draco’s neck in thought. “Lets just sit here for a while,” He suggests before plopping down in the grass. Draco smiles softly, resting his head in Harry’s lap as he makes himself comfortable on the field as well. 

“Can you play with my hair?” Draco whispers, blushing. He doesn’t catch it but Harry smiles wide. When he begins carding his fingers through Draco’s hair, the boy shuts his eyes, calm washing over his otherwise stressed features.

“You’re cute,” Harry mutters and Draco rolls his eyes playfully. 

“Malfoys aren’t cute,” Draco replies. 

“Sexy then,” Harry chuckles. 

The blond rolls his eyes yet again but reaches up to kiss Harry gently. “Wonder when the next Quidditch game is,” He mumbles after pulling away. 

“Probably in a few weeks. Ravenclaw against Hufflepuff. Want to go with me?”

“Sure,” Draco grins. It then hits him that they would have to come out eventually. Hermione, Pansy and Luna’s knowledge of them wouldn’t suffice and they couldn’t keep it a secret forever. The slightest bit of panic runs through Draco’s system but he pushes it away as soon as he feels Harry runs his fingers through his hair again. 

“Is that my sweater?” Harry asks after a few moments and Draco nods without shame. 

“Your clothes are more comfortable than mine. Too much green silk,” Draco says with a shutter. 

Harry chuckles, pecking Draco's lips quickly yet tenderly. The blond didn't mind at all. 

A few hours later, the two of them were settled in Draco's dorm. The taller boy had his hands resting behind his head, eyelids drooping ever so slowly. “Mind if I take a quick nap?” He murmurs and Harry shakes his head, smiling fondly at the boy. 

“Go ahead,” 

Draco smiles, pulling his covers up around him and curling into a tight ball until he is lulled off to sleep. It's an hour later that he is awakened to Harry's panicked whimpering. His eyes shoot open in confusion to find the boy clutching his head, face paler than Draco had ever seen it. “What's wrong, Harry?” He asks, sitting up and moving closer to his boyfriend.

“My head... My... My scar,” He mutters, tears pricking in his eyes. 

Fear strikes Draco for a moment before it finally dawns on him. “Your scar can't hurt anymore, darling. Voldemort’s dead. It's just a headache,” He rubs a thumb over the hand Harry was clutching his head with before removing it and kissing the boy's scar. “You're safe now. I've got you,” He promises. 

“N-No. My-- My scar,” Harry continues to whimper as if he hadn't heard him. “It hurts so much. He's coming back,” His voice comes out strangled and nearing a sob which breaks Draco's heart.

“Harry,” Draco murmurs. “You're safe now. He's gone, love,” He then goes to kiss across Harry's forehead, hoping to will the headache away. The two lay down on the bed, Draco cradling Harry in his arms until his headache fades. “Better?” 

Harry hum softly, wiping his eyes which were caked with dry tears. “You should rest,” Draco suggests. The shorter boy nods numbly and says nothing when Draco tucks him under the covers. “Sleep well, my prince. I’ll be right here,” Draco murmurs, kissing Harry’s forehead once more. 

Harry nuzzles into Draco’s chest and falls asleep, rubbing his temples in the hopes that his headache would never return. He is unable to find sleep however and as soon as Draco notices this, he begins to sing softly in Harry’s ear, a tune the boy recognized. 

“Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts teach us something please. Whether we be old and bald or young with scabby knees, our heads could do with filling, with some interesting stuff, for now they’re bare and full of air, dead flies and bits of fluff,” 

The song causes Harry to smile lightly, kissing Draco gently before the boy goes back to singing and Harry eventually falls asleep the second time the boy had gone through it.


	16. Chapter 16

//

“Do it, Draco,” Lucius snaps from beside his son, voice holding no mercy. 

“Can't you?” Draco whispers through trembling vocal chords. 

“The Dark Lord is watching,” Lucius reminds the blond harshly. 

Draco looks back behind him to find Voldemort sitting at the dining table with and excited and amused grin, eager for the young boy to obey his order. The Malfoy swallows thickly and his hand is trembling as he lifts his wand. He points it at the helpless woman in front of him, shutting his eyes tight as he says, “C-Crutio,” voice barely audible as he utters the spell. 

The woman’s screams are well heard, however and as soon as she begs Draco to stop, he does, lowering his hand and dropping his wand as he sprints from the room. He scurries off to the bathroom, shutting the door before kneeling over the toilet and getting sick. Tears caked his cheeks and rattling sobs leave his mouth in gasps. He pulls his knees to his chest and bats his palms at his temples, disgusted with himself before eventually getting up and rummaging around the medicine cabinet, grabbing his razor and quickly breaking it open, picking up one of the blades. He eyes his dark mark with shame, repulsed by it before bringing the razor to his pale skin without remorse. 

Once he had cleaned up, Draco smooths himself out and leaves the bathroom. As soon as he opens the door, he finds his mother standing in front of it with Draco's wand in her hand, looking pale and concerned. “Are you alright, Draco?” She wonders and Draco nods with a convincing smile. 

“Fine, mum,” He murmurs before moving past her to his room.

//

Draco sits up, breathing harshly. He knows he has tears collecting in his eyes from the sharp sting against his irises and feels a gentle touch on his knee as he wipes them. He then sees Pansy giving him a confused look from her spot beside him on her bed. “Are you okay, Draco?” She asks. 

“Nightmare,” He mutters, shutting his eyes tightly and tries to even out his breathing. Much to his relief, Pansy didn't ask questions, only pulls him to her chest and holds him tightly, wishing to will his fears and trauma away. “I hate this,” Draco murmurs, shutting his eyes tight. 

“I know, Dray,” She says as she cards his fingers through his hair. “But you're safe now. Nobody can hurt you or force you to do anything you don't want to,”

Draco nods solemnly and after a few moments he pulls away from Pansy. “What time is it?” He mumbles. 

“Quarter after midnight,” Pansy replies in the darkness. 

“Want to take a walk with me? I need to clear my head,” Pansy hums in agreement a few moments later and the two head out to the black lake. Draco was dressed in one of Harry’s sweaters and baggy sweatpants and Pansy in boardshorts and a Slytherin hoodie though she was shivering as they strolled across the lake. 

Draco casts a heating charm around her to seize her shivers and the girl smiles gratefully. “Are you going to tell me what happened in your nightmare?” She asks after she had settled down beside the frozen waves. 

Draco fiddles with his fingers, sighing into the inky sky. “I uh-- It was back at the Manor when Voldemort had me torture someone,” He whispers, voice trembling. His hands are in tight fists, nails digging crescents into his palms yet he gives it no notice. 

“Lumos Maxima,” Pansy casts quietly and frowns at Draco who was now bathed in silvery light, trembling lip now visible.

“I didn’t want to do it. You have to know that, Pansy,” He whispers desperately. 

“I know you didn’t, Draco,” She replies, moving closer to her friend and pulling him into a hug as she had when they were alone in her dorm. “Have you told Harry about your nightmares?” 

Draco shakes his head, sighing. “Not since I came back from visiting my mum,” The blond was subconsciously rubbing at the harsh scars underneath his sweater sleeve and doesn't meet Pansy’s gaze when she catches him. “I still think about it, you know. Hurting myself,” He murmurs. “It made all the pain go away, if just for a little while. I never healed my cuts with magic. I wanted them to sting, to show me I was capable of feeling something other than guilt,”

When his friend squeezes his shoulder gently, Draco shrugs the girl away, steering closer to the water. “Draco...” Pansy trails off, unsure what to say. 

“I don't want your pity,” Draco hisses, grabbing the nearest stone and throwing it onto the thinning ice. “I'm so tired of that. I'm tired of all of this shit. I want it all to stop. I want life to stop,” He whispers. 

“What do you mean?” Pansy asks, voice nearing the same volume as the angular boy’s.

“Do you remember the scars you saw on my chest the first night back? There were two sets. The Cruciatus Curse which was still an angry pink but if you looked closer you could see a paler pair as well. Harry cast a curse at me during our sixth year when I hexed Katie Bell. He nearly killed me and while I was bleeding out on that goddamn floor, I couldn't help but think that death wouldn't be too bloody bad,” Draco explains, staring down at his hands. 

“Don't say that,” Pansy murmurs.

“I can’t help how I feel,” Draco mutters. “Slitting my wrists didn’t do a damn thing so maybe I’ll just irk someone into using that same spell on me again,” Pansy instantly comes to Draco’s side when he says this and frowns at his shaking hands. “It happens more often whenever I’m stressed or upset,” He explains. 

“Have you been taking the potion Harry made for you?” 

“Father broke them as soon as he knew they were from Harry. He was furious that I was even associating with him so I’d never dare even tell him our dating,” 

“You should go back to see Madam Pomphrey,” Pansy pushes gently and Draco shakes his head. 

“It’s too late for that. Maybe tomorrow,” Draco says yet his reply is hollow and they both knew it wouldn’t be happening. He then sees the light she had cast was slowly dimming and continues with, “C’mon, lets get back to bed. We’ll both be exhausted in the morning,” 

He watches Pansy nod and the two walk a few paces before the brown haired girl asks, “Do you want to stay at mine again tonight? Incase you have anymore nightmares?” 

Draco thinks this over and eventually nods as they near closer to the castle. “I think that’d be a good idea,” He says quietly, staring down at his hands. 

Once the Slytherin duo had settled down in Pansy’s bed, the girl asks, “Does your mum know about you and Harry being together?”

“She knows that Harry and I are... comfortable with each other but considering I only asked Harry out a few days ago, I haven’t really had the chance to tell her,” A few beats of silence pass before Draco says, “I never asked you what you thought of Harry and me. When I told you about us having a thing you didn’t really seem fazed by it,” 

Pansy shrugs, an action Draco could barely see through the darkness. “He makes you happy so I’m happy,” She replies simply before turning on her side and saying, “Goodnight, Dray,” 

Draco finds himself smiling slightly as he pulls her covers up to his chin. “Night, Pans,” He murmurs before eventually his eyes begin to droop and the both of them fall asleep.


	17. Chapter 17

“So you’ve been MIA lately,” Ron points out one night in the eighth year Common Room. Harry and Hermione share a look across from each other and Harry shrugs as if it was no big deal. 

“Yeah, I’ve been caught up in my studies,” He lies. There was no way he was ready to tell Ron about his relationship with Draco. He knew the boy wouldn’t take it well.

“Since when have you ever been worried about your studies?” Ron snorts, disbelieving. 

“Since, now I guess,” Harry mutters. “‘Mione might just be rubbing off on me,” He jokes in the hopes that his ginger friend would drop it.

“Right,” He says, unconvinced but not willing to push it. “Well maybe I need to hang around her more so the same can happen to me. My marks are pretty low,” 

“Like you don’t spend enough time together already, if you know what I mean,” Harry mumbles, causing both of his friends to blush a bright red. 

“Shut up, git,” Ron grumbles before getting up and saying, “I’m going to go to my room so I don’t have to listen to anymore of your ridicule,” 

Harry chuckles as his friend walks off and when he does, Hermione says, “When are you going to tell him about you and Draco?” 

Harry shrugs, nervous at the subject and overall thought of it as he says, “Dunno. When the two of us are ready, I guess. Things are good right now and I don’t want to ruin that,” 

“How is he, ya know, mentally? That stuff with his dad must’ve made him a little screwy,” 

Harry freezes at his friend’s words before saying, “He’s not ‘screwy’. He might be having a hard time right now but he’s not mental. He knows how to handle things and comes to me with them if he can’t. Period,” 

Hermione nods slowly, not quite believing him but lets the conversation diminish. “You know I’m here for you, right? Draco too. I know he and I haven’t gotten along in the past but I can see how much he’s changed. He hasn’t said a vile thing to me at all this year and from what I’ve seen, he’s a totally different person. A person I can see myself associating myself with,”

Harry finds himself smiling at Hermione’s words and grips her hand gently. “Thank you,” He murmurs, eyes locked on the warm fire feet from them. 

“No problem, Harry. Whatever happens, I’m with you. I’m always with you,” 

***

It's two days later when Draco has another nightmare. He wakes with a hallow scream yet was smart enough to put up silencing wards around his room the night before. Surely other students weren't fond of being woken up in the middle of the night. 

Draco pulls some sweatpants over his boxer clad thighs and wipes his face before leaving his dorm and heading to Harry's. The door had been open slightly and through it, Draco finds Harry and Ginny chatting on his bed. The blond boy goes ghostly pale before turning on his heel and heading back to his room. He understood his boyfriend couldn't be there for him each time he broke down but he couldn't help but feel the slightest bit insecure about how comfortable he had been with her. Draco trusted Harry but there was no way in hell that he trusted Ginny. That girl had been infatuated with the dark haired boy ever since she had set eyes on him so Merlin knows what she would pull. Especially since no one knew he and Draco were dating. 

Draco sighs, pulling his blanket up to his chin and stewing over his current wreck of emotions. He felt so stupid for being upset over such a minuscule thing but he finds himself in the same state he had been when he had first awoken. He goes down to breakfast without Harry or Pansy, picking at his breakfast with his head down. “You alright, Draco?” Pansy asks once she had found him. 

“Fine,” The boy mutters, pushing his plate away. Pansy frowns at the obvious lie but drops the subject, knowing her friend would come to her when he was ready.

“Are you okay enough to go to class?” She watches as Draco nods slowly and gets up from the Slytherin table. 

They get through class with little to no issues until Potions comes along. Draco had been avoiding Harry all day but couldn't do so any longer. When the raven haired boy takes the cauldron beside him, Draco makes a show of not acknowledging him. Halfway through class, Draco heads to the supply closet to grab more ingredients and Harry follows without him noticing. “Did I do something?” He asks as Draco grabbed the Mason jar filled with Mandrake roots, the boy nearly dropping the glass in fright. 

“No,” Draco mutters, back still to him as he fiddles with the cap. 

“Then why have you been ignoring me?” Harry wonders. 

“I haven't,” 

“Bullshit,” Harry says, tone frustrated. 

Draco is silent for a moment as he undoes the cap and takes what he needs before putting it back and facing his boyfriend. “It's nothing,” He says through clenched teeth. 

The blond watches as Harry's features go hard and moments later he's pushed up against the wall, wrists pinned to his sides. “I don't like liars, Draco,” 

Harry's tone was dark and Draco couldn't help but feel the slightest bit flustered. Nonetheless, he pulls his hands from Harry's grasp, stronger than the other wizard despite his slim frame and says, “Fine. Merlin’s fucking beard there's no reason to get your wand in a bloody knot,” He takes a deep breath to calm himself before saying, “I needed you, alright? I had a nightmare so I went to your room and saw you all cozy with the Weaselette. Is that what you wanted to hear, Potter? Are you satisfied?” 

He sends his boyfriend a final harsh glare before leaving the storage room and heading back to his workplace. Harry was completely stunned. He never expected Draco to be the jealous type. The short boy heads back to his cauldron as well and frowns when he finds his potion to be a sickly green colour. He runs a hand through his hair, knowing it was completely ruined. 

Draco doesn't bother helping Harry fix it, leaving the classroom as soon as they're dismissed and the boy doesn't find Draco until the day is almost over. The boy was in the Room of Requirement and it took Harry a while to figure that out. Draco was sat on the bed he and Harry had wished for weeks ago with his head in his hands. “Darling?” Harry says softly as he nears closer to the blond, hearing him sigh with frustration from the mattress. 

“You finally found me,” He mutters. 

“I'm sorry I wasn't there for you last night,” Harry says, running a hand through Draco’s hair.

“I know you can't always be. You have other people to be there for. Better people. People who aren't Death Eaters...” Draco trails off, so quiet Harry barely managed to pick it up.

“Death Eater or no, I still care for you, Draco Malfoy,”

When the Slytherin lifts his head, his lips are turned into the smallest of smiles. “Thank you,” He whispers. 

“I never took you as the jealous type,” Harry admits as Draco rests his head on his shoulder. 

“Of course I am,” Draco says. “You're mine and only mine and she's your ex girlfriend. Pretty sure you'd be a bit territorial if you found me nearly on Nott’s bloody lap,”

Harry freezes beside Draco. “You dated Nott?” He asks. 

The blond nods slowly, shrugging. “If you could even call it that. We mostly just fooled around. Shagged, got each other off. You know,” He says. 

“Did you... Did you bottom?” 

Draco goes red at the question. “We switched, not that it matters anymore. That was ages ago. It started at the beginning of sixth year. Fooling around got my mind off all this bullishit with Voldemort. Shagging Nott was something that felt normal in my wreck of a life,”

“You shouldn't use sex as a coping mechanism,” Harry frowns. 

Draco suddenly goes rigid and faces away from his boyfriend. “Better than slitting my wrists, isn't it?” The blond then gets up from the bed and leaves to crawl into his own. Harry sighs, resting an elbow on his knee and takes another deep breath. He felt has for his boyfriend; he was hurting so much and there wasn't much Harry could do. 

The silver eyed boy stumbles into Harry's room right before he's asleep. “I didn't want to sleep alone,” He whispers into the darkness. 

Harry says nothing, only wraps an arm around Draco until they both slip into unconsciousness.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING. READ WITH CAUTION.

“I’d suggest you wipe the drool off your chin and shut your mouth before you catch flies,” Pansy tells Draco one morning at breakfast. 

The blond goes the lightest shade of pink and finally takes his gaze off of his boyfriend from across the room. “I wasn’t drooling,” He mutters yet wipes his mouth subconsciously. 

“Pretty sure you can’t make it anymore obvious that you’re undressing Potter with your eyes,” Pansy snickers, causing the tall boy to turn a darker shade of red. 

“Shut up,” He says quietly, staring down at his eggs and popping the yoke with a grimace. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't keep his eyes off his boyfriend. There was something about him that kept the blond more captivated than usual. 

It's when he pushes his plate away and looks back at Harry again that he finds him lip locked with Ginny. His face goes pale, hands shaking and he leaves the Great Hall moments later with tears twinkling in his eyes. He heads to his dorm, shuffling around in his nearly empty suitcase before finding what he needs and heads down to the prefects’ bathroom, locking the door behind him. He stands in front of the mirror, razor in hand while grimacing at his reflection, Dark Mark prominent on his pale skin. No wonder why Harry would rather kiss Ginny than him.

Draco doesn't hesitate to bring the razor down to his forearm. More cuts and scars are quickly added to the collection and the blond is wracked with sobs each time he brings the metal down. He hears a knock on the bathroom door and Harry calling his name moments later which causes him to freeze in front of the mirror. He quickly heals his cuts, wiping his eyes before he says, “Leave me alone, Potter,”

The blond rests against the sink, ragged breaths leaving pale lips as he heard Harry mutter, “Alohamora,” from the other side of the door. Seconds later, the shorter boy is walking into the bathroom, frowning at his boyfriend who was a shaking mess. “Draco it's not--” 

“What I think?” Draco finishes with a harsh chuckle. “Not much was left to the imagination between you and that bloody Weasley girl,” 

“Darling, listen to me--” Harry begs, nearing closer to the blond. 

“No. Don't,” Draco hits Harry with the weakest stinging jinx before moving past him and up to his dorm. He doesn't go to any of his classes; only lays in his bed crying for hours. 

When the blond goes down to dinner, he finds Harry walking alone for the first time in what felt like forever. His tears had dried and the sadness he had once felt is now replaced with anger so when he grabs at the Golden Boy’s wrist and pulls him into an empty classroom, he no longer feels hurt. “Draco what--” 

“Whose boyfriend are you?” The blond growls, light eyes turning charcoal grey with deep rooted possession. 

“Yours,” He says with slight confusion. 

“And whose boyfriend are you not?” 

“Ginny’s,”

“And who is this only person you're allowed to kiss?” 

“Draco Malfoy. I'm only allowed to kiss Draco Malfoy because I'm his boyfriend and nobody else's.” Harry says and Draco grins, pleased with the answer. 

“Good,” He says. “Now that we have that all figured out, are you going to explain to me what happened at breakfast this morning?”

Harry cast his eyes downward with shame at Draco’s words. “I was having breakfast, as you saw and Ginny was telling me how her relationship with Dean was going south--which I thought Dean was dating Seamus and I was confused--and then she was saying that she was worried it was because she was a bad kisser and figured it was alright to test it out on me,” 

Draco’s eyes visibly darken at Harry’s words. “I’m going to wring her bloody neck,” He snaps. 

“No you’re not,” Harry replies quickly, sending his boyfriend a halfhearted glare. “She’s my best friend’s sister,” He finishes lamely. 

“That doesn’t mean she has free reign to kiss my boyfriend,” Draco replies hotly. Harry can’t help but smile softly at the possession present in the blond’s tone. “This is amusing you?” The taller boy asks, displeased. 

“No,” Harry promises, grabbing onto Draco’s pale hand which was much smaller than his own. “I just love how territorial you get,” He admits. 

Draco quirks an eyebrow to the sky. “Is that so?” He asks, voice husky. 

“Yes,” Harry murmurs before pulling the boy close and pressing their lips together. 

The kiss was meant to be soft and caring but Draco quickly slips his tongue into Harry’s mouth, deepening it. “You’re mine,” Draco growls, causing a shiver to run down Harry’s spine. 

“All yours,” He echos, voice nearing a whisper. 

Draco then removes his lips and kisses a trail down the boy’s neck, leaving marks along the way. “Now she’ll know not to touch my boy,” The blond says, hands snaking down to the shorter boy’s waist, nails digging crescents into the delicate skin. Harry runs his hands through Draco’s hair, disheveling it and tugging lightly on the blond roots, emitting a soft moan from the boy’s lips. “Fuck, Harry,” He mutters before kissing the boy again. 

“W-We better get to dinner before it ends,” Harry says finally, pulling away from his boyfriend. 

A small pout forms on Draco’s lips but he nods, straightening out his tie and doing the same for the Gryffindor. “Alright,” He sighs. “You should enter before I do,” 

Harry hums softly before giving Draco a final small peck on the lips and walks away, only looking back to shoot the boy a wink. The blond rolls his eyes and enters the Great Hall moments after Harry and sits at the Slytherin table. “Where were you?” Pansy asks quietly, looking up from her plate. 

“Was busy marking my territory,” Draco mutters, looking back at his boy and Pansy follows his gaze to Harry, watching as Ginny’s jaw drops at the deep purple marks on Harry’s throat. Draco grins triumphantly before turning back to his food.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning. Proceed with caution.

While Harry was having a peaceful wank, Draco was plagued with nightmares. While Harry's fist was wrapped firmly around his cock, Draco was thrashing against his sheets. While soft moans of Draco's name leave Harry's lips, harsh sobs leave the blond's. Needless to say their nights were headed in two completely different directions.

Harry couldn't help himself; the memory of Draco's possessive tone, the dark marks on his neck he hadn't bothered healing and the way the boy's nails dug crevices into his hip bones caused the dark haired boy to go stiff with arousal. He would saw off his own hand if it meant he could witness Draco like that once more. Merlin, he knew he'd be able to come untouched if he saw it. He wouldn't even need his bloody hand. 

Draco, however, wasn't having as nearly a good of time than Harry was. His eyes were shut tight and sweat trickled down his temples. He wanted anything other than this memory to overcome him. 

//

The room was dimly lit yet Draco could made out Dolohov’s face in the navy darkness. “Get the bloody hell away from me,” The blond snaps through gritted teeth. 

Dolohov raises an amused eyebrow at the boy and says, “Interesting request, but I don't think I will,” His voice is deep and gravely, rumbling deep in his chest and Draco is drugged with fear. Dolohov has him pinned to the wall, wrists above his head in the man's vice grip and the younger boy couldn't move an inch no matter how hard he tried. 

“Get-- Off!” Draco grunts desperately. As soon as the words leave his mouth, the grip on his wrists tighten and he winces. Moments later, Dolohov is murmuring a spell under his breath and suddenly Draco's wrists are bound by invisible ties and Dolohov’s hands are free. The silver eyed boy's blood runs cold as soon as Dolohov’s hands travel down the expanse of Draco's chest and torso. “S-Stop it,” 

Dolohov doesn't listen, only begins undoing both his and Draco’s belts. Tears had brimmed past his cheeks and he hadn't noticed until he can taste the salty aftermath. “Your father doesn't have it in him to punish you for your cowardice so I suppose it's up to me,” Dolohov tells him, ignoring Draco's tears. 

Fear is rushing like acid in Draco’s veins. If only he had his wand; there was no way Draco could reach it from here. He could see a fragment of hawthorne sticking between his mattress and the wall where he had once been sleeping but now the sturdy object seemed miles away. 

Draco swallows thickly and with all his might screams, “HELP! SOMEONE HELP M--” 

“Shut the fuck up, Malfoy,” Dolohov snaps venomously. He then casts a silencing charm over Draco's mouth and now however much he tried screaming no sound would follow. He tried trashing about, fighting against the unforgiving magical ties binding his wrists as Dolohov removes Draco’s boxers, leaving the boy terribly exposed. Another soundless scream passes Draco’s mouth and moments later he falls to the ground. He scrambles to his feet, surprised the tightness around his wrists was abandoned and moves away from the burly man in front of him. 

He fights against Dolohov’s grip once his hands made contact with Draco's pale skin but the older Death Eater is simply too strong. So Draco ends up giving in. He lost all hope of escaping the moment Dolohov pulled down his trousers and sobs wrack his body when the man's hands do as they please, probing Draco's delicate skin.

//

The blond awakens to his own screams and tanned hands on his biceps. “Fuck! Get off me. Get o-off!” Draco says, pushing the body away. “Don’t touch me. Get your hands off me! I can't do this. I--” 

“Draco, it's me. It's Harry,”

“N-No. No!” The blond screams, flailing in the darkness. “Go away! Harry wouldn't do that to me. I-I--” 

Draco is wrapped in a warm embrace before he could finish and Harry is murmuring soothing words into his hair. “What happened, Draco?” He finally asks after several moments of silence, the only sound being Draco's ragged breathing. 

“Nightmare. I forgot to put silencing wards up,” The blond mutters, ashamed. 

“You're having nightmares again?” Harry questions quietly. 

“Yes,” Draco whispers.

“Can you tell me what happened?” The raven boy asks and after a few moments of silence he continues with, “It helps to talk about it, remember?” 

Draco is subconsciously scratching at his forearm, opening old scars and doesn't stop until Harry places his hand over his. “You'll be mad,” He whispers, focusing on the warmth Harry brought to his skin. 

“I doubt that, darling,” Harry murmurs against Draco's hair. 

Draco takes a few shallow deep breaths before he does as Harry had asked and tells him everything. The green eyed boy listens intensely from the moment Draco begins, face paling with each syllable. When the boy finishes, Harry's hands are fisting Draco's bed sheets in anger. “Told you you'd be mad,” He whispers. 

Harry's face softens and he cups Draco's cheek in his hand. “Not at you,” He promises. “But I'm going to break Dolohov’s bloody neck,” He continues, traces of anger still present in his deep tone. 

“My mum already killed him,” Draco whispers. “When I told her one night, she was so upset that she killed him. It was a few days after I was assigned to k-kill Dumbledore...” 

Harry pulls Draco into a tight hug and kisses the top of his head. “Do you want me to stay with you tonight?” 

“Please,” The blond says breathlessly. Harry nods instinctively and curls into bed with the shaken boy. “You think she's okay? My mum?” Draco asks after several minutes of silence.

Harry nods into the crook of Draco's shoulder. “Of course,” He murmurs before placing a delicate kiss there.

“Thank you, Harry. For everything you've done for me,” Malfoy whispers into the darkness. 

The smaller boy strokes Draco’s soft hair lightly. “There’s no need to thank me, Draco,” He replies, voice just as soft. “You’ve done plenty for me as well,” The Slytherin shakes his head and Harry barely sees it through the black abyss. “You think I haven’t seen the Crucio scars on you?” He murmurs and traces one, in the middle of his chest between the Sectumsempra slashes, a starburst of tattered skin. 

“They’re ugly,” Draco murmurs. 

Harry kisses Draco’s neck, lips feather light. “They’re a part of you, my beautiful boy,” He says. Draco flushes red and says nothing. “Why did you get them?”

The taller boy is hesitant to answer. “When I didn't complete and task. Or... when I lied about it being you at the Manor,” 

Shock floods like ice water in Harry's veins. “They hurt you because of that?” He whispers. 

“Yes but I don't regret it. Voldemort he... He was terrible. I'm glad he's gone,” 

“Take a walk with me,” Harry says suddenly, taking his hands out of Draco’s hair, which he had subconsciously carding his hands through.

“Where?” Draco asks with confusion. 

“You’ll see,” Harry murmurs and the two leave the eighth year dorms, leaving Hogwarts’ castle. 

“Why’re we going to the forbidden forest?” Draco questions, tone laced with the slightest tinge of fear. 

“I’ve got something to show you,” Snow had settled on the ground and the branches of the trees, the duo’s shoes crunching as they walked. 

“We’re going to get lost,” Draco snaps, the farther they continued to walk.

“It’s not much longer now,” Harry promises, taking Draco’s hand in his own. His eyes were trailed on the ground and when Draco follows his gaze, he sees large horse shoe prints in the dusty snow. 

“Are we... Are we hunting something?” Draco asks, fear present now. 

“Don’t be stupid, of course not,” Harry replies, squeezing his boyfriend’s hand. 

A low snort causes Draco to nearly jump out of his skin. “What the bloody hell is that?” The blond gasps, cowering behind the shorter boy. 

“A Thestral,” Harry tells him fondly and goes forward to stroke it’s spiny back. “Beautiful, right?” 

“I think you and I have pretty different versions of beauty, Potter,” Draco hisses, taking another step back from the magical creature. 

Harry rolls his eyes and doesn’t step away from the animal. “Well I think they’re incredible. We’re only able to see them if we’ve... seen someone die,” 

“Lovely,” Draco mutters, looking down. “Why did you think this would make me feel better?” 

“Because I wanted to show you that even though you’ve gone through some terrible things, it opens up a whole new world of beautiful things too,” Harry murmurs, stepping toward his boyfriend and kissing his cheek. “Everything will be okay,” He promises and Draco nods, burying his face into Harry’s neck when he wraps his arms around Draco’s waist and the blond suddenly no longer felt afraid.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a very important one. Not to mention the second to last. I'm working on the epilogue now yikes. Much love x

Harry slept soundlessly at Draco's side while the blond laid wide awake. He couldn't stop thinking about those goddamn Thestrals. Days had passed since the deep brunet had shown them to the boy and Draco couldn't get the spiny creatures out of his head. He hadn't told Pansy about the experience; it seemed so intimate that he only wanted to keep it between the two of them. 

Draco pulls Harry's hoodie tighter around him, hands lost in the sleeves as he gets up and heads to the bathroom. He stands in front of one of the sinks, tears twinkling in his eyes and blinks them away, heart heavy. The tears came without avail and ran down Draco’s cheeks in thick streaks. The Malfoy had never felt uglier and when he feels strong arms wrap around his waist several sobs in, he flinches away, ashamed. “You always find me here,” He whispers pathetically, not meeting Harry’s gaze in the mirror. 

“I’ve come to rescue you, my prince. Now what’s wrong?” Harry wonders.

Draco falls closer into Harry’s chest and shuts his eyes. “I can’t stop thinking about those Thesterals. It brought back how many deaths I’ve seen. More than anyone should, Harry,” He whispers, tears returning. 

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have shown them to you. I thought they would help,” Harry murmurs, kissing Draco’s neck lightly. 

“No it’s... It’s fine,” Draco mutters yet doesn't meet Harry's gaze. 

“It doesn't seem fine, Draco,”

“Stop that,” The blond hisses. “Stop acting like I'm weak and need protection,” He pulls away from Harry then and storms from the bathroom, heading to his own dorm without another word and leaving Harry lost and confused. 

***

Three nights had passed since that night in Harry’s dorm and Draco had been avoiding the raven haired boy at all costs. Apart from classes, the blond stayed cooped up in his room and shooed everyone away who tried entering. What Harry or Pansy didn’t know however was that Draco spent these nights wracked with sobs, shielded by silencing charms. 

In all honesty, Draco was a complete mess and what pissed him off the most was that he wasn't even sure why. He wasn't sure what made him flee from Harry's embrace three nights ago and what kept him away. And id there was one thing Draco hated the most, it was not knowing things. 

Professor McGonnagall arrives at Draco's dorm room when she is confronted by Luna who was looking particularly concerned. “Um, hello professor,” Draco says uncertainly upon answering the door. His clothes were wrinkled and his hair was messy, eyes bloodshot. It was obvious that he had been crying and sleeping very little. 

“Mrs. Lovegood has come to me particularly concerned, Mr. Malfoy,” The grey haired woman informs him. 

“And this involves me how?” Draco asks quietly, voice barely above a whisper, clearly fatigued and worried as if he raised it the whole castle would hear. 

“It’s about you, Draco,” She informs him. “Luna was telling me how you have been missing classes and haven't been yourself lately. Now, you know that a part of the rules regarding your release from Azkaban, you have to attend your classes every day and punishment shall be rewarded if said task isn't performed,”

“What kind of punishment?” Draco asks, exhausted. 

“Detention from now until spring break,” She says firmly 

The blond boy looks unfazed although he was aware spring break was three weeks away. “Alright, I’ll go to my classes,” He promises quietly and their Headmistress nods before wishing the boy goodnight and heading down the eighth year dormitory. After a few moments of brewing things over, Draco leaves his dorm and heads to the first floor bathroom, wanting to be confronted by one girl and one only. “Myrtle,” Draco whispers in the dimly lit bathroom walls. 

The ghostly girl appears in front of the withering boy with a frown. “What’s wrong, Draco?” She asks softly, watching as the boy takes a seat on the dusty floor, crossing her legs and hovering a few inches from the ground beside him. 

“I don’t know if I can continue dating Harry,” He mutters, fiddling with his fingers. 

“What?” Myrtle snaps, face suddenly centimetres from Draco’s. “Are you crazy? That boy is perfect for you. You’d have to be loony to break up with him!” 

“He’s only with me because I’m his charity case,” The pale boy murmurs insecurely. Myrtle tries lifting Draco’s chin with her index finger yet her hand disappears, unable to fully grasp him but the blond gets her gesture and looks up. 

“I’m going to be blunt with you,” Myrtle warns him. “You’re being ridiculous right now. You’re even more stupid than I thought if you really think that Harry only thinks of you as his charity case. That boy cares about you, Draco. Now stop being daft and get out of here, find Harry and tell him you’re sorry for thinking these absolutely absurd things,” She orders. 

Draco lets off a half laugh, half groan and gets up from the floor. “Fine. Thanks, Myrtle... again,” He says and the two are suddenly pulled back to their sixth year where Draco had been sobbing into a dingy sink.

“Stay safe Draco. Please,” She says before returning to a bathroom cubicle and leaving Draco to muttle in his thoughts. 

The boy leaves the bathroom moments later and finds himself at Harry’s door sooner than he would’ve liked. He opens it and finds the boy asleep in his bed and crawls in beside him before shutting his eyes and falling asleep.

He is awoken a few hours later to Harry kissing down his neck. “Morning,” The boy whispers once Draco had opened his eyes. “When did you get in here?” He questions, sunlight casting highlights on Harry’s tan skin. 

“Late last night,” Draco replies softly, running a hand through Harry’s hair. “McGonagall scolded me for not getting to class so I... I have to go today. Now c’mon, we need to get up or we’ll miss breakfast,” Harry groans but knows Draco was right so the two dress quietly. The deep brunet lends clothes to Draco and the boy takes them greatfully, the fabric sitting in baggy waves around his thin frame. Harry found it completely adorable. 

The two head down to breakfast with their fingers intertwined. They knew they could get away with this since it was still early and not many students would be out just yet. They sit together, close enough to knock knees and Draco finds himself loading up his plate with all of Harry’s favorite food, his boyfriend watching him the entire time and grinning from ear to ear once he had set it down. 

The dining hall had begun to fill once the two had dug in and Pansy makes it to the table before Ron or Hermione had. She offers a thankful smile, not questioning why the boy had ignored her for days, knowing he would tell her when he was ready and was glad Harry wasn’t questioning him either. “You look so tired,” Harry murmurs, running his fingers over the dark circles under Draco’s eyes with a feather light touch. 

Draco pushes his eggs around his plate. “Yeah, I’ve just been thinking a lot,” The boy whispers. 

Ron and Hermione arrive at the table before Harry could reply. “Hello Draco,” Hermione grins, putting two and two together. Was this a subtle hint to the two of them coming out? She couldn’t help but question. 

“Morning,” Draco replies with the smallest grin. He then turns his attention to Harry who was smiling much wider than he. “What?” He asks quietly. 

“You just... You look happy,” 

“I’m happy whenever I’m with you,” Draco replies softly. 

“What?” Harry asks incredulously. 

Draco rolls his eyes at his idiotic boyfriend. “You’re such an idiot. You think I don't notice things about you but I do, Harry. I notice how you look at me when you think I don’t realize. Like I’m the light of your bloody world or something. I notice that you wear a watch because you're always convinced the school charms their own to go slower than they should and you like wearing it on your inner wrist so that you can check the time as you're working since you find that way easier. Your clothes are always wrinkled because you leave them crumpled on the floor when you're deciding on an outfit the morning before. Your hair is unkempt no matter how hard you try to tame it but it's always so nice to run my fingers through. You like treacle tart for dessert but Merlin knows why since it's disgusting. But... I love all these things about you, Harry and I’m always happiest with the ones I love so.... I-- I love you,” The words are spilling from his lips before he could stop them and he’s not exactly sure what forced them out. When he looks over at Harry bashfully, he finds the boy smiling from ear to ear. “Say something,” He whispers nervously. 

“I love you too, Draco,” He murmurs before kissing the boy softly. 

The two hear Ron choke on his food from across the table and Pansy applauding the two of them but they pay no mind, too wrapped up in each other to comment and in that moment, everything was how it was supposed to be.


	21. Epilogue

“Myrtle?” Draco’s voice is soft as he walks into the abandoned girl’s bathroom, footsteps equally as hollow. The girl appears in front of him before he knows it. “Today is my last day at Hogwarts,” He murmurs. 

Myrtle’s eyes go wide behind her wired glasses. “Is it? Already?” 

Draco laughs quietly, nodding. “That it is,” He murmurs. Myrtle says nothing, as if urging Draco to continue so he does, although he’s not sure what it was he needed to get off his chest. “The only good thing about my last year here was getting to spend it with Harry,” He blushes. “That boy made everything worth it for me,” 

“What does that mean for you now?” Myrtle asks, eyebrow raised, watching as Draco finds a seat on the floor, sitting criss crossed with his head in his palm. 

“Harry is letting my mum and I stay at his place for a while. You know, away from my father and all that but... I’m not sure what I want after that. Harry talked to McGonagall about possible future potions and dark arts positions for us once the new year started but...” Draco sighs, running a hand through his hair. “I don’t want to just get the job because I’m dating Harry Potter. I want to get the job because I earned it. Harry knows how much I would love that position so I get why he would talk to the Headmistress but this was something I wanted to do for myself,” 

A soft smile creeps onto Myrtle’s face and Draco rolls his eyes with a laugh as soon as she says, “You can always put me down as a reference. Merlin knows I have enough to tell her about you. All the things Hogwarts never got to see,” 

“Do what you have to. That is, if you ever want to see me around here again,” He cracks the slightest grin before digging into his robes and pulling out a Golden Snitch. “The other ghosts told me they only saw you leave your bathroom for one reason and that was to watch the Quidditch games so... I just wanted to give you this as a thank you for all you’ve done,”

Myrtle’s eyes water, lip trembling as she goes to hug Draco, only to fall right through him. The two laugh and he lets go of the snitch, watching the golden orb float evenly before their eyes. “Where did you get it from?” She whispers. 

“It’s not a real one. I got it from Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes, actually. You don’t have to catch this one. It’s wings fold in after a few minutes. It’s more of a distraction thing, rather than a motive,” Draco shrugs, appearing uncharacteristically humble. 

“I love it, Draco. Thank you,” Myrtle hiccups and only then does Draco realize her tears had fallen. “You didn’t have to get me anything,” She says eventually, catching her breath. 

“I know,” Draco replies. “But I wanted to because that’s what friends do, right?” He pokes the snitch one final time before offering Myrtle a smile and exiting the bathroom, leaving Myrtle alone to stare in awe at the gift Draco had given her. 

***

“George told me you went to his joke shop today,” Harry says quietly, the two curled up in his bed, deep under covers. 

“Yeah, I uh-- I got Myrtle a gift before we left Hogwarts,” Draco murmurs into his hands, not meeting his boyfriend’s gaze. 

“Moaning Myrtle? The ghost of the first floor bathroom?” Harry asks with a raised eyebrow, voice full of humor. 

“Yes,” Draco snaps, slightly irritated. “That one,” A beat of silence passes over them before Draco sighs and continues. “I didn’t have any teachers to say goodbye to so I said goodbye to the only other person besides you and Pansy who understood me,” He whispers. “She was there during sixth year after I got my mark and Voldemort was giving me those tasks... She saw me at my weakest and didn’t judge me for it. I couldn’t just leave her without saying goodbye,” 

Harry places feather light kisses down Draco’s shoulder blades. “It’s really sweet,” He murmurs against the pale skin.

The Slytherin boy smiles slightly. “You know me, killing with kindness,” 

Harry rolls his eyes loudly. “Since when?” He chuckles and Draco grins, pressing kisses over Harry’s face. 

“Since always. Won you over, right?” He murmurs into the boy’s tanned skin. 

“What kindness?” He chuckles and Draco rolls his eyes. 

“You were always charmed by me, Harry. You were never subtle about it,” Harry blushes the slightest shade of pink but doesn’t deny it. 

“I could see us like this forever. When we’re old and wrinkled. You and I will still be here, laying in this bed, curled up like this...” He kisses down Draco’s neck and shoulders again in the way he knew the boy loved.

“Malfoys never age,” Draco smirks, teasing and Harry rolls his eyes. A few moments pass before he continues. “I could see it too,” Draco whispers and watches a smile bloom onto Harry’s face. The boy looks down at his arm baring the Dark Mark with a frown and Harry follows his eyesight moments later. “I just don’t understand how you can love me when I have this ugly thing,” He murmurs, looking ashamed. 

Harry pushes Draco’s sleeve up, exposing the mark and the blond boy cringes, looking away, flinching when he feels Harry’s lips make contact with his skin. “I love you for everything that you are,” Potter murmurs against his forearm. 

Despite how touched Draco was by this, he says, “Shut up, Potter,” with a light chuckle and pulling his arm away. “Now lets go to bed. I’m exhausted,” Harry says nothing, simply nods slowly, pecks his boyfriend goodnight and falls asleep. 

*** 

Draco awakens in a cold sweat, breathing heavy. “Fuck,” He whispers, trying to break free of the nightmare. He runs a hand through his hair and looks down at his chest. There was no blood, no deep Sectumsempra slashes. He was safe. He was healed. Yet these memories still haunt him. 

Draco curls in on his side, away from Harry who slept soundlessly beside him, and tries to hide his trembling hands although it was too dark for even himself to see. He didn’t want to tell Harry about these nightmares because he knew his boyfriend would be beyond guilty but the thought of them kept him up at night. He slips from the bed and walks into the bathroom, shutting the door and kneeling over the sink, breaths coming out in ragged pants. “Damn it,” He whispers, running a hand through his hair. He lifts his shirt, locking his gaze on the Sectumsempra and Crucio scars, whimpering. Ugly. That’s all his body would be with these unforgiving blemishes across his chest.

A soft sob passes the Malfoy’s lips which he hides behind his hand. Any louder and he would wake Harry. He pulls his shirt back down then and stares at the Dark Mark peaking through his short sleeves. Disgusting. He scratches at the scarred skin until the area is red and irritated. With a sigh, Draco blinks away the rest of his tears and goes down to the kitchen to make himself some tea. He sets a warming charm on the water in his mug, knowing the kettle would wake Harry and steeps his tea until the water was a pleasant chestnut colour, adding honey and milk moments later. He sits at their kitchen table, running a hand through his hair and gets up to grab a piece of parchment from their study room with a quill in the other hand. He wasn’t sure where this was all coming from, but he wanted to make amends with Potter’s friends. Maybe it was because he loved Harry, or maybe he was a changed man the moment he stepped out of Hogwarts. 

Hermione, 

I’m aware of the late hour and I’m hoping I didn’t wake you but late at night is when I do most of my thinking. I just wanted to apologize for all the wrongs I’ve done to you. From the moment we had first met during first year to recently. I’m a twat, I know but Harry means the world to me and I figured the least I could do is try to rekindle a relationship with you and Ron. You both are a large part of his life and, if I intend on spending the rest of my life with him, I know you two are a package deal when it comes to him so I’m hoping with time, we’ll be able to fix things. 

Write back when you can, 

DM

He folds the slip of parchment without a second thought and sends his mother’s owl off to find Granger. Draco sips his tea anxiously as he waits, receiving a reply from Hermione just as he finishes his mug. 

Draco, 

I appreciate your apology. Ron and I have been talking about this was well. You’re not as bad as you think you are, you know. You’ve gotten better ever since eighth year started. Maybe even sooner than that. We knew you recognized Harry at the Manor during the war and you didn’t say anything. That in itself proves that you’re not evil despite what you and others may think. Despite popular belief, I’m beginning to warm up to you. Ron may take a bit more convincing but we’ll get there. You’re good for Harry, Draco. Don’t doubt that.

Talk soon, 

Hermione 

Smiling faintly, Draco puts his cup in the sink and makes his way back to the bedroom and wraps an arm around Harry. He pulls the boy close enough to feel his rattled breathing against him and kisses the boy’s cheek gently before eventually falling back asleep, grateful for all that he had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowza I had SUCH a hard time writing this. Probably because I never wanted to let this story go. It's my baby and although it has a lot of flaws, I love it to bits and enjoyed writing it. I hope you all enjoyed it as well. Much love x


End file.
